UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing 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 competitive ten-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry fight to win the continental belt.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness became a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, everything their inspiration the legend embodied.
