UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance decreased during regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, 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 appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell faded, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling developing under his face as the pair landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, everything their idol the legend stood for.
