UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing debut to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a majority decision in a close ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling clean blows in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, deserved the decision but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to take risks in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner periods.
The crowd's patience diminished amid regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific all-Manchester fight to secure the continental title.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as 10 bells rang in memory of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness gave way to a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the duo traded punishing blows.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton represented.
