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British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the techniques never quite clicked, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.

The officials scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the spectators.

The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Win in Dull Encounter

Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.

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 ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to barely take the cleaner rounds.

The spectators' acceptance decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight championship.

The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell ended, the silence transitioned to a chant of "only one Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.

But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured early, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the fighters traded powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration Hatton embodied.