UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the action.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was faced boos from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin during frequent holding, with Parker going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet became a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring equaled the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with official scores of even score, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, everything their idol Hatton represented.
