British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the contest.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor said in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, merited the win but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Earns Win in Slow Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the better periods.
The crowd's patience decreased amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester fight to win the continental championship.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring matched the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, exactly what their hero the legend represented.
