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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.

The officials judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was met by disapproval from the spectators.

The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the decision but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.

The Champion Earns Win in Dull Match

The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat 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 bout at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance wore thin during regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.

Parker closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Battle

In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the continental belt.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the stillness transitioned to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The action during the bout reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, significant bruising forming under his face as the pair landed hard punches.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over the full distance.

Arthur edged the result with official scores of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their hero the legend stood for.