British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the fight.
The officials had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was met by boos from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the better periods.
The audience's tolerance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising forming under his face as the pair traded punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and brave, everything their idol Hatton stood for.
