UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to edge the better periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during clinches.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue fell silent for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as ten bells rang in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence gave way to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the fighters exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton embodied.
