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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.

The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Affair

The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.

Previously predicted as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with both competitors ready to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to edge the better stanzas.

The audience's tolerance decreased during frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight belt.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting during the bout reflected the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a left hook directly to the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the duo landed hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and brave, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton stood for.