British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Various analysts felt Parker, thirty-one, merited the victory but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Victory in Slow Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the better rounds.
The crowd's patience diminished amid regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental championship.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as 10 bells tolled in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound ended, the silence transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, everything their idol the legend embodied.
