UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender endured the second setback of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Slow Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry battle to secure the continental title.
The arena became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook directly to the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the pair traded hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and brave, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.
