UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi said in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer endured the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Claims Victory in Slow Encounter
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was competing in only his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the cleaner stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester fight to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged soon, noticeable damage developing under his face as the duo exchanged hard punches.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend represented.
