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British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.

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

"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor stated in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the audience.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Dull Match

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better rounds.

The spectators' acceptance diminished during constant clinching, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent local rivalry fight to win the European light heavyweight championship.

The arena fell silent for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the silence transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition within the ring equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the eight count.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising forming under his eye as the duo exchanged powerful shots.

Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.