UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to barely take the better stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance decreased during frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The action within the ring reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook squarely on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend represented.
