UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best showing but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
His career development has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet became a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and brave, everything their inspiration the legend stood for.
