British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming start to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, merited the decision but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Match
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and extended periods of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the better periods.
The crowd's patience wore thin amid regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry contest to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their hero the legend embodied.
