British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, deserved the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Earns Win in Dull Affair
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the more effective rounds.
The audience's tolerance diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the stillness transitioned to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured early, heavy swelling forming under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton embodied.
