British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the fight.
The officials judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, 31, merited the win but the contender endured the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Slow Encounter
His career development has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the more effective stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage forming under his orbital area as the fighters landed punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton represented.
