Ricky Hatton showed glimpses of his former self as he coasted through eight rounds with Marco Antonio Barrera.
Hatton was returning to the ring a decade after his final professional fight ended in defeat when he was stopped by Vyacheslav Senchenko in the same Manchester Arena. Barrera was fighting for the first time in 11 years following his own Hall of Fame career.
The legends, who won 121 fights between them in the paid ranks, clashed over eight two-minute rounds with no winner or score recorded. Hatton, 44, rolled back the years as he walked to the ring to the sound of Manchester City anthem Blue Moon.
Hatton, who had lost four stone in the build-up, was the sharper at the opening bell as he took the centre of the ring before the fleshier Barrera, 48, looked to work his way back into the round. Hatton was being roared on by a vociferous home crowd but found himself being caught coming in in the second session.
Barrera switched to southpaw in the third round but there was little quality on show as Hatton continued to push the pace. It was the Brit who continued to land the better shots through the fourth stanza, including an eye-catching right hook to the chin.
Hatton began the fifth round with a brief onslaught as he pinned Barrera on the ropes, an attack which coaxed the Mexican into a response as he landed a right hand of his own. Hatton continued to look the sharper through the sixth before both men upped the ante in the penultimate session.
Neither man let up over the final two minutes with a right hand from Hatton the highlight before the men embraced at the final bell.
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Earlier in the night, Natasha Jonas added a third world title to her collection as she edged out Marie-Eve Dicaire. Jonas had failed in two previous world title challenges before she stopped Chris Namus in February to win a belt at super-welterweight.
The Liverpool native then outpointed Patricia Berghult two months ago to take another step towards becoming the undisputed champion. And Jonas now needs one more belt to complete the set after each of the three judges handed her victory.
Elsewhere, Frazer Clarke moved to 4-0 as a professional with a points win over dangerous journeyman Kamil Sokolowski. And rising star Dalton Smith retained his British super-lightweight title with a hard-fought victory over once-beaten Kaisee Benjamin.
