UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific all-Manchester contest to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The venue fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the silence became a shout of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his face as the duo landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the result with official scores of even score, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.
