British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing spoiling the action.
The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to edge the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance wore thin during frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, everything their inspiration the legend represented.
