UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory 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 boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with excessive holding disrupting the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, deserved the win but the British boxer endured the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Claims Win in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were difficult to score. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Fuels Local Rivalry Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to secure the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound ended, the stillness became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up early, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the fighters traded powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, everything their hero the legend embodied.
