British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor stated in the ring as he was greeted with boos from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Match
His career development has stalled in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the better periods.
The crowd's patience decreased during frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester battle to win the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook flush on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the fighters landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton embodied.
