UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching marring the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi said in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, merited the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to barely take the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the continental championship.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness became a roar of "only one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the feeling. Arthur was floored by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his orbital area as the duo traded powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but each competitor were relentless and brave, everything their inspiration the legend represented.
