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UK light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the contest.

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

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced boos from the audience.

The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Triumph in Slow Match

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.

The crowd's patience diminished during regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a terrific local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight title.

The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition within the ring equaled the feeling. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch directly to the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

The victor barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, everything their inspiration Hatton embodied.