British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a tight 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor commented in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Win in Dull Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the cleaner rounds.
The crowd's patience diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight championship.
The arena fell silent for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring reflected the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the duo landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.
