British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the contest.
The officials scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, thirty-one, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Win in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry battle to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the silence gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout matched the feeling. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the referee's count.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising forming under his face as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, exactly what their idol Hatton embodied.
