British 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 punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.
The officials had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Match
His career development has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
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 two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the cleaner rounds.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The stadium fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, exactly what their hero the legend stood for.
