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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.

The officials judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.

The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts thought Parker, 31, merited the decision but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Claims Victory in Slow Affair

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor several times during grappling.

Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Homage Motivates Local Rivalry Fight

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.

The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a left hook directly to the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.

The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, everything their hero the legend embodied.