UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a close ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Earns Victory in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance decreased because of regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the pair traded powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend embodied.
