UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
The officials scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, merited the decision but the contender endured the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Slow Match
His career development has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the cleaner periods.
The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium fell silent for a deeply poignant memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the pair traded punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, everything their idol Hatton stood for.
