British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing debut to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Claims Win in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as 10 bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the duo traded powerful shots.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the verdict with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton represented.
