British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts believed Parker, 31, merited the win but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Encounter
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was competing in only his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the better rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a terrific all-Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound ended, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising developing under his face as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with official scores of draw, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, all the qualities their idol Hatton stood for.
