British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, deserved the win but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Win in Slow Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the better periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue grew hushed for a deeply poignant tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence became a shout of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the emotion. Arthur was floored by a left hook flush on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the duo traded hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton stood for.
