UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second setback of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the more effective periods.
The crowd's patience decreased amid regular grabbing, with Parker going down various instances during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in September.
It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence gave way to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow directly to the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his face as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and courageous, all the qualities their hero the legend embodied.
