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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming 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 majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.

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

The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Various analysts thought Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Secures Victory in Uneventful Affair

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a calculated opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the better periods.

The crowd's patience diminished because of regular grabbing, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires All-Manchester Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence became a chant of "there's just one Hatton".

The competition within the ring equaled the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.

But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his orbital area as the pair traded punishing blows.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.

The victor edged the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton stood for.