UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the better periods.
The audience's tolerance wore thin amid regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the silence transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the second round, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured early, significant bruising developing under his eye as the duo landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and clearer margin, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend embodied.
