British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the contest.
The officials scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, merited the decision but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but many rounds were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the eight count.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage forming under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of draw, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton embodied.
