British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by boos from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Earns Victory in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the quiet became a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, exactly what their hero Hatton represented.
