British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching marring the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, merited the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the better periods.
The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the silence transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.
