UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor said in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, 31, deserved the victory but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the better periods.
The crowd's patience decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker going down multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the duo traded powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the decision with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, everything their hero the legend represented.
