UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They succeed," the victor stated in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Earns Victory in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during clinches.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the jaw in the second round, rising shakily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage developing under his eye as the fighters exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, everything their inspiration the legend represented.
