British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the better periods.
The audience's tolerance wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the continental title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and courageous, all the qualities their hero the legend stood for.
