British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, deserved the decision but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Match
His career development has stalled in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the more effective rounds.
The audience's tolerance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester contest to capture the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound ended, the silence became a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising developing under his face as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and brave, all the qualities their inspiration the legend represented.
