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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning 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 judges' verdict in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.

But Parker found success, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They succeed," the victor commented in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the audience.

The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-match career.

Buatsi Secures Victory in Uneventful Encounter

The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to edge the cleaner periods.

The audience's tolerance decreased amid frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi advances, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Contest

In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the continental belt.

The stadium grew hushed for a deeply poignant homage before the fight as 10 bells sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes equaled the emotion. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his face as the pair exchanged powerful shots.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and brave, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.