UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor said in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, 31, merited the win but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in September.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the fighters landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their idol Hatton embodied.
