British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.
Two judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the arena as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Earns Win in Slow Affair
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to overcommit in a calculated early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his face as the pair exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and brave, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.
