UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They win," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to capture the continental championship.
The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant homage before the fight as ten bells tolled in honor of the city's native Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring matched the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the fighters landed punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.
