British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
Two judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Claims Win in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished amid frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry fight to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.
But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the duo traded powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their idol Hatton stood for.
