British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Dull Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased during constant clinching, with Parker going down several times during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the duo traded punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their idol the legend embodied.
