UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor stated in the ringside as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, deserved the decision but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Dull Affair
His career development has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid regular grabbing, with Parker going down multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound ended, the silence gave way to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow flush on the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage forming under his orbital area as the duo traded powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton represented.
