UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry fight to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the silence gave way to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the referee's count.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the fighters traded punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of draw, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration Hatton represented.
