Caoimhin Agyarko got the job done on the SSE Arena undercard on Saturday with a points victory over Bahadur Karami, but was made to work for the 79-73 verdict.
The Manchester-based Iranian, who usually campaigns at super-middleweight, was a late stand-in for Tomi Silvennoinen and seemed to be eager to take his big chance as he came out swinging and gave the Belfast man more trouble than he had probably bargained for in the opener as he was left with blood from his right nostril.
But Agyarko seemed a lot more focussed in the second, popping out a sharp jab to set up solid rights and began to target downstairs in an effort to chip away at Karami.
Still, the visitor pressed and was full of ambition and his own jab was crisp and swung looping rights in an effort to score the home run.
It was clear this was not going to be an opportunity for anything spectacular for the Belfast man, but he was doing the right things by targeting the body and searching for uppercuts against a significantly bigger foe.
'Black Thunder' also has the advantage in speed and his jab was crisp through the middle to keep Karami off balance.
It was not exactly one-way traffic either as Karami kept pressing and enjoyed decent success in the sixth, enough to prompt Agyarko put together a tidy combo early in the seventh.
Agyarko was clearly aiming for a stoppage as he came out for the eighth and final round with intent, but in the end had to settle for a win on the cards to improve to 15-0.
Owen O'Neill is helped by referee Eamonn Magill following his loss to Dylan Moran 
Dylan Moran scored a lightning-quick win over Owen O'Neill in their all-Irish welterweight clash.
The Dungarvan man wasted absolutely no time in improving his record to 19-2 as a huge left hook just seconds in had O'Neill's eyes in orbit.
Moran was in no mood to let him off the hook, thudding home heavy shots with O'Neill backed on the ropes and reeling with referee Eamon Magill jumping in with just 19 seconds gone as O'Neill suffered his first pro loss in his 14th outing.
Fearghus Quinn was also left stunned as he was stopped after 30 seconds of the second round by Aston Brown in a battle of previously undefeated middleweights.
It was a competitive opener, but the second exploded into life as they traded but the South Armagh man came off worse, wobbled and then finished by the Scot with a right that left Quinn down and despite his efforts, unable to get up.
The night began with Belfast middleweight John Boyd improving the 3-0 with a 60-54 points win against Jordan Grannum, followed by Coleraine's Matthew Boreland who made it two wins from two with a four-round shutout of Erick Omar Lopez at featherweight.
Jan O'Neill lands during his debut win
Strabane's Cathal McLaughlin made his pro debut at middleweight and impressed in a points win over Martin Shaw.
In fact, it was a night of debuts with Gary Arthurs claiming a points victory over Edgar Romero at middleweight, whilst former Holy Trinity duo Teo Alin and Jack O'Neill also got off to winning starts.
Cookstown super-featherweight Alin sent his big support home happy with a 40-36 win over Engel Gomez, followed by Belfast featherweight O'Neill who took care of business in identical fashion against Jake Pollard.
There were also a victory for Wexford welterweight Dean Gonzalez-Furlong,
