UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt Parker, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Dull Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished during frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor several times during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the duo landed punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, everything their inspiration Hatton stood for.
