UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
Two judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Win in Dull Match
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the better rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased during frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the silence became a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout equaled the feeling. Arthur was floored by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but each competitor were persistent and brave, everything their inspiration Hatton stood for.
