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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the contest.

Two judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was greeted with boos from the audience.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer endured the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Earns Triumph in Uneventful Affair

His career development has plateaued in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to barely take the cleaner periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished amid frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Homage Fuels Manchester Derby Fight

In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the fighters landed punishing blows.

Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend embodied.