British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt the challenger, 31, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.
The stadium became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the silence became a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook flush on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his face as the duo landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration the legend embodied.
