British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to win the continental belt.
The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and brave, all the qualities their idol the legend embodied.
