British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was met by boos from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Win in Slow Affair
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent times through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.
He started carefully, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. 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 moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as ten bells sounded in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The action within the ring matched the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage forming under his face as the duo exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.
