UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was greeted with boos from the spectators.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the cleaner periods.
The crowd's patience diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during clinches.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a terrific local rivalry contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the silence became a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.
