British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Encounter
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished during constant clinching, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the silence became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch directly to the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their idol the legend stood for.
