British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Win in Dull Affair
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage forming under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and courageous, everything their idol Hatton represented.
