UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, 31, deserved the victory but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to barely take the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished amid frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry contest to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence became a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a left hook flush on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling forming under his eye as the duo landed powerful shots.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, exactly what their idol the legend stood for.
