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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching marring the fight.

Two judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced boos from the crowd.

The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.

Various analysts thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Win in Dull Match

His career development has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a tentative early stages.

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

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the cleaner stanzas.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Fight

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

The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the stillness became a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured soon, significant bruising developing under his eye as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.