British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin because of frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry battle to capture the continental belt.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness gave way to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow flush on the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up early, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, everything their inspiration Hatton embodied.
