British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the ringside as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Win in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the cleaner periods.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells rang in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound ended, the quiet gave way to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage developing under his face as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, exactly what their inspiration Hatton represented.
