UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
Two judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the continental belt.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his face as the duo traded hard punches.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor edged the decision with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, everything their hero the legend stood for.
