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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.

Two judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.

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

The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts believed Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-match career.

The Champion Earns Victory in Dull Encounter

His career development has slowed in recent times through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to take risks in a calculated opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to edge the more effective stanzas.

The crowd's patience diminished because of constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but many rounds were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to capture the continental title.

The stadium became quiet for a deeply poignant tribute prior to the bout as ten bells rang in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition within the ring equaled the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch directly to the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his feet on the eight count.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his face as the duo landed hard punches.

Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol the legend represented.