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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a close 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.

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

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th career victory.

Various analysts believed Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Encounter

Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to overcommit in a calculated opening few rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better rounds.

The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi moves on, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Inspires Manchester Derby Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime faded, the quiet gave way to a shout of "only one Hatton".

The action inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the eight count.

But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.

Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.

Arthur barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.