British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing spoiling the action.
Two judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The crowd's patience diminished during frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental championship.
The stadium became quiet for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton stood for.
