UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Uneventful Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to edge the more effective periods.
The crowd's patience wore thin during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the continental title.
The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the silence became a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the decision with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and brave, exactly what their idol the legend embodied.
