British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor said in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second setback of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Win in Slow Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the stillness became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout matched the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, significant bruising appearing under his orbital area as the pair traded powerful shots.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and courageous, exactly what their idol the legend represented.
