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British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, landing some telling clean blows in a match where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing marring the fight.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Match

His career development has plateaued in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the better periods.

The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during grappling.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.

The victor advances, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Contest

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the continental belt.

The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the silence gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured soon, significant bruising appearing under his orbital area as the fighters traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.