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British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.

The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the arena as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-match career.

The Champion Earns Victory in Dull Affair

His career development has stalled in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the better rounds.

The crowd's patience diminished during frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Fight

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to win the European light-heavyweight championship.

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.

It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the stillness became a chant of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage developing under his face as the fighters landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.