British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-match career.
The Champion Earns Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to barely take the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance decreased because of frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific local rivalry contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the duo landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, everything their idol the legend represented.
