British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the fight.
The officials judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.
