UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to edge the better stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance decreased amid regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the continental championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch flush on the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, all the qualities their idol Hatton embodied.
