UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.
The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to edge the more effective rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the silence gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.
