UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Dull Encounter
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner rounds.
The audience's tolerance diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured soon, significant bruising forming under his eye as the pair exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, everything their hero the legend embodied.
