British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Affair
His career development has plateaued in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to edge the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry fight to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, narrow lead and clearer margin, but both fighters were persistent and brave, all the qualities their idol the legend stood for.
