UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding disrupting the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor said in the ring as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor several times during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with official scores of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their idol the legend represented.
