British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor stated in the ringside as he was faced boos from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Slow Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Manchester Derby Contest
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry battle to win the continental belt.
The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the stillness became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair traded hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, everything their idol the legend stood for.
