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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.

Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Match

His career development has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light heavyweight title.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.

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

The fighting during the bout matched the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising forming under his eye as the duo exchanged powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.