Joshua Buatsi returned to the ring but failed to make a statement in his latest victory.

A 50-week ring absence ended with a new promoter as Buatsi outpointed Poland’s Pawel Stepien over ten rounds in his debut under the BOXXER promotional banner. Scores were 100-90, 98-92 and 97-94 for Buatsi in their Sky Sports main event Saturday evening at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.

Buatsi opened the bout as would be expected of a methodical boxer-puncher fighting for the first time after a near year-long break. Stepien was determined to force his right hand through the tight guard of Buatsi, managing to land one home late in the round along with a body shot. Buatsi—a Ghana-born boxer based out of Croydon, London who won a Bronze medal for Great Britain in the 2016 Rio Olympics— fought largely behind the jab and remained cool.

Both fighters picked up the pace in round two, which favored Buatsi. Stepien aimed to force the action but was sent to the ropes as Buatsi briefly offered a volley of power punches.

It was enough to force the visiting Pole to offer more foot movement, which spilled over into a slow-moving round three that featured little action. Stepien landed a right hand late in a round otherwise controlled by Buatsi’s jab.

Stepien let his hands go in round two. Most of the punches caught gloves but it spoke to the determination of the unbeaten visiting boxer. Buatsi took the shots and continued to work behind the jab but was unable to find a home for right hands behind it. Stepien landed a right hand later in the round but an effort to follow up saw Buatsi land a counter left hook just before the bell.

The fight struggled to break pattern as the rounds progressed. Buatsi was content to fight behind the jab while Stepien remained right-hand dependent. The failure by either boxer to catch a steady rhythm provided a sparring-like feel to what should have been a statement-making performance by Buatsi considering the bouts that fell through which led to his extended time away from the ring.

Buatsi went on the hunt again in round seven. Stepien was no longer as ambitious as he was in the first half of the contest and appeared to fall into survival mode. Buatsi extended his left hand to Stepien’s midsection but without a power shot behind it to make him pay.

Stepien rode out an uppercut and straight right hand to land a left hook and looping right midway through round nine. True to form, Buatsi responded with a stiff jab down the middle to snap back Stepien’s head along the ropes. It was the most spirited exchange of the round—and perhaps the fight.

Buatsi chased Stepien around the ring for the first minute of the tenth and final round. Stepien hid behind a high guard as he went on the defensive. Buatsi landed a couple of right hands but couldn’t plant his feet long enough to connect with anything else of substance.

Stepien’s first career road trip ended in defeat as he fell to 18-1-1 (12KOs). The bout was a consolation prize after his planned March 11 trip to Liverpool was canceled when former WBA super middleweight titlist Callum Smith was forced to cancel their bout due to an injury.

Buatsi advanced to 17-0 (13KOs) with the win, his first since a twelve-round decision over countryman Craig Richards last May 22 at The O2 in London. The bout turned out to be his last with Matchroom, as the two sides had a falling out that proved irreparable.

In between that period, Buatsi watched two proposed bouts fall by the wayside.

He was due to face former lineal/WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal in an IBF title eliminator that was ordered last summer. DiBella Promotions outbid Matchroom to secure the rights to the fight but Buatsi’s side failed to honor the purse bid terms in a slowed effort to return signed bout agreements.

Matchroom sought to have Buatsi challenge WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol as the highest-ranked contender. The fight never materialized, as Buatsi instead chose to leave Matchroom for BOXXER, where there are now talks of his facing countryman Dan Azeez—who was ringside—sometime later this year.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox