British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Match
His career development has stalled in recent times through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the continental belt.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured soon, significant bruising developing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, everything their hero the legend represented.
