British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor commented in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Match
His career development has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished during constant clinching, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the pair landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.
