British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced boos from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished during frequent holding, with Parker going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his position on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton represented.
