British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a close ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The officials scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, merited the decision but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Slow Match
His career development has plateaued in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the continental championship.
The stadium became quiet for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch directly to the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.
