British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing debut to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during clinches.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry fight to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising forming under his eye as the pair traded hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.
