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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.

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

"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was met by boos from the spectators.

The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, deserved the win but the British boxer experienced the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.

The Champion Earns Win in Slow Affair

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

Previously predicted as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to narrowly win the better rounds.

The spectators' acceptance decreased during frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.

The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires Local Rivalry Fight

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the continental belt.

The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony rang in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.

It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, significant bruising developing under his face as the fighters exchanged powerful shots.

Rea, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

The victor edged the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and courageous, all the qualities their hero Hatton stood for.