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UK light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the boxing arena.

But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching marring the action.

The officials had it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.

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

The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.

Various analysts believed the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-match career.

Buatsi Claims Win in Slow Match

Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to edge the better periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.

Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

The victor progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Contest

In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.

The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant memorial prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in memory of local hero Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet gave way to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".

The action within the ring reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the chin in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage forming under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.

Arthur narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, everything their hero Hatton represented.