UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming start to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased amid frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during grappling.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in honor of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness became a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook flush on the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.
