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British light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round bout at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a match where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the action.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.

The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Secures Triumph in Dull Match

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The crowd's patience wore thin amid constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during close exchanges.

The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental belt.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.

It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the stillness became a shout of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend stood for.