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British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to life under new promoters with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the action.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-match career.

Buatsi Secures Win in Dull Affair

His career development has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.

Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.

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

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the better stanzas.

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

Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry contest to secure the European light-heavyweight title.

The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.

But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage developing under his face as the pair traded punishing blows.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and brave, everything their inspiration the legend stood for.