UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing spoiling the contest.
The officials had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Various analysts felt the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.
The Champion Claims Win in Dull Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the better rounds.
The crowd's patience wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker going down several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's only one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes matched the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a left hook flush on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.
