UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The officials had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Earns Victory in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to take risks in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as ten bells rang in honor of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet became a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the result with official scores of even score, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton represented.
