British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming start to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, 31, merited the decision but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Dull Match
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with Parker going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to secure the continental championship.
The venue fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute ahead of the contest as ten bells tolled in honor of local hero Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured early, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol Hatton stood for.
