British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Dull Match
His career development has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific all-Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the silence gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage developing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and brave, everything their idol Hatton represented.
