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

The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a split decision in a close ten-round contest at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was met by disapproval from the spectators.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Dull Match

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.

The spectators' acceptance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester fight to secure the continental championship.

The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the quiet became a chant of "only one Hatton".

The action within the ring equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.

But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the pair landed powerful shots.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, everything their idol the legend represented.