British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.
The officials had it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Match
His career development has stalled in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the more effective periods.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The stadium fell silent for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.
