UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling single shots in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the victory but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-match career.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class 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 made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective periods.
The spectators' acceptance diminished amid regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester fight to win the European light-heavyweight title.
The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the silence transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his position on the eight count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage developing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton represented.
