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British light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to his career under recent management with a decision win over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by boos from the crowd.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.

Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-match career.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Encounter

Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a calculated early stages.

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 halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective rounds.

The crowd's patience decreased during frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.

Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in honor of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".

The action during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the referee's count.

But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.

The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.

Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and brave, exactly what their hero the legend embodied.