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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger found success, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the fight.

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

"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.

The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.

The Champion Claims Triumph in Slow Encounter

His career development has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.

The crowd's patience wore thin because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during clinches.

The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the continental title.

The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.

But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage developing under his eye as the duo traded hard punches.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor narrowly won the verdict with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, exactly what their hero the legend stood for.