British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
The officials judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-match career.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Match
His career development has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the stillness became a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the duo exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.
