British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the fight.
The officials scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Win in Uneventful Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to barely take the cleaner stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry battle to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The arena fell silent for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence became a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The competition during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and courageous, everything their hero the legend embodied.
