British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a tight 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the ring as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Dull Match
His career development has plateaued in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the continental championship.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, everything their idol the legend stood for.
