UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the cleaner rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. Arthur was floored by a left hook directly to the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, everything their inspiration Hatton represented.
