UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the techniques never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Various analysts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Win in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to take risks in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the more effective rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a deeply poignant homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured early, significant bruising forming under his eye as the fighters traded hard punches.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and brave, all the qualities their hero Hatton represented.
