UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding disrupting the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my finest display but what defines champions? They succeed," the victor commented in the arena as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Slow Affair
His career development has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of constant clinching, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.
Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a deeply poignant tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the silence transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring reflected the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the fighters traded punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton represented.
