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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.

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

"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was met by boos from the spectators.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Match

The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to barely take the more effective rounds.

The crowd's patience diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The stadium grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.

But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the fighters traded hard punches.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, exactly what their hero the legend represented.