UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, delivering effective single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching marring the fight.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell ended, the quiet gave way to a chant of "only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his face as the pair traded powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and brave, everything their hero Hatton stood for.
