British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the British boxer endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Win in Dull Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the better rounds.
The crowd's patience diminished amid regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific local rivalry contest to win the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena became quiet for a deeply poignant tribute ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their hero the legend represented.
