British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by boos from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during clinches.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to capture the continental belt.
The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of draw, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend embodied.
