British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming start to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The officials judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, thirty-one, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the more effective periods.
The crowd's patience diminished during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as ten bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence gave way to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the feeling. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising forming under his face as the pair traded powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and brave, everything their hero the legend represented.
