British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The officials had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the continental title.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a left hook flush on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, everything their hero the legend represented.
