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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive start to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.

The officials judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the decision but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.

Buatsi Secures Victory in Dull Encounter

The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers prepared to overcommit in a calculated early stages.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.

The spectators' acceptance diminished because of regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during grappling.

Parker closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just one round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Fight

In the co-main event, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry contest to capture the continental title.

The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of local hero Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the quiet gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.