UK 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 medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Earns Victory in Slow Affair
His career development has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the better rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Hatton".
The action within the ring reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising forming under his eye as the pair traded punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, everything their hero Hatton stood for.
