British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker found success, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best showing but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor commented in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-match career.
The Champion Claims Win in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the better periods.
The audience's tolerance diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry fight to win the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in honor of local hero Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his face as the fighters landed punishing blows.
Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend stood for.
