British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the better rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin because of constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester contest to win the continental belt.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition during the bout reflected the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and brave, all the qualities their inspiration the legend represented.
