UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a majority decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They win," the victor commented in the ring as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter willing to take risks in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the continental belt.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the silence gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the pair traded hard punches.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend embodied.
