UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing debut to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the cleaner stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the silence became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend stood for.
