British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Match
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as 10 bells tolled in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell faded, the stillness transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas 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 the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, everything their inspiration Hatton stood for.
