UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was faced boos from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the better rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.
Parker closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The venue grew hushed for a deeply poignant tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his position on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the fighters traded hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.
