British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Dull Match
His career development has stalled in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the better periods.
The crowd's patience diminished during frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry contest to secure the continental title.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the silence gave way to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising forming under his eye as the pair landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and courageous, all the qualities their idol the legend represented.
