UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They win," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced boos from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Encounter
His career development has slowed in recent times through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the result with official scores of even score, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration Hatton embodied.
