British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi said in the arena as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the better rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished during constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester battle to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook flush on the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his eye as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor edged the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend embodied.
