British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Earns Win in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance decreased because of constant clinching, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.
Parker closed well, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in honor of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring matched the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling forming under his orbital area as the pair exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.
