UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful single shots in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to edge the more effective rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased amid frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the continental title.
The arena grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged soon, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the duo traded punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor barely secured the verdict with official scores of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.
