UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was met by boos from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer endured the second setback of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
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 bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished because of constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Manchester Derby Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry fight to capture the European light heavyweight belt.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the silence transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring matched the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the duo exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, everything their idol the legend represented.
