British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Dull Match
His career development has slowed in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the better periods.
The crowd's patience diminished during frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence transitioned to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, exactly what their idol the legend embodied.
