UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Victory in Dull Match
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight belt.
The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was floored by a left hook directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling developing under his face as the duo landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.
