UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker found success, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a cagey opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to win the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, noticeable damage developing under his face as the pair landed powerful shots.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and brave, all the qualities their idol Hatton stood for.
