UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
Two judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor commented in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the silence became a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the pair landed hard punches.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, all the qualities their hero the legend stood for.
