British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning 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 appeared to earn him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the better rounds.
The crowd's patience wore thin during frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant homage before the fight as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the silence gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the duo landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.
