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British light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the contest.

Two judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a even score.

"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was faced boos from the spectators.

The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts felt the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Encounter

His career development has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to take risks in a tentative early stages.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.

Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester contest to capture the European light heavyweight belt.

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the duo traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, everything their idol the legend represented.