UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a split decision in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the action.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, merited the victory but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a last chance - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the cleaner rounds.
The audience's tolerance diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to win the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the quiet gave way to a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the feeling. Arthur was floored by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the fighters traded punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, everything their inspiration the legend stood for.
