UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by boos from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Win in Uneventful Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a tight guard to narrowly win the better rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin because of regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow squarely on the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage forming under his face as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and clearer margin, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.
