UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Affair
His career development has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to barely take the cleaner rounds.
The audience's tolerance wore thin during frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the silence gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a left hook directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was damaged early, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the pair traded hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration the legend embodied.
