UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The crowd's patience decreased amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to win the continental championship.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the silence transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the emotion. Arthur was floored by a left hook squarely on the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, everything their idol Hatton represented.
