British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to barely take the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid constant clinching, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a terrific all-Manchester battle to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the stillness became a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his face as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, everything their hero the legend embodied.
