British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
The officials scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent times through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to edge the cleaner periods.
The spectators' acceptance decreased during frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling forming under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and brave, exactly what their idol Hatton embodied.
