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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a close 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.

The officials scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced boos from the spectators.

The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.

Buatsi Earns Triumph in Slow Match

Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.

Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to edge the cleaner stanzas.

The audience's tolerance wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during close exchanges.

Parker closed well, but many rounds were challenging to assess. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi moves on, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Battle

In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight championship.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.

It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the silence gave way to a chant of "only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.

But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over twelve rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.