British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi said in the arena as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, thirty-one, deserved the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry contest to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The stadium grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the fighters traded powerful shots.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton stood for.
