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British light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.

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

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.

The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Affair

Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.

Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to overcommit in a tentative early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to edge the cleaner rounds.

The spectators' acceptance wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during clinches.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Local Rivalry Battle

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

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as 10 bells sounded in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell faded, the quiet became a chant of "only one Hatton".

The action inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the pair landed powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.

The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of even score, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, everything their hero Hatton represented.