UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi said in the arena as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Earns Victory in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker going down several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet became a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring reflected the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol the legend stood for.
