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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the fight.

Two judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.

The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.

Buatsi Secures Triumph in Slow Match

His career development has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance wore thin because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.

Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Contest

In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester fight to win the European light heavyweight championship.

The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".

The action during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook flush on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured early, significant bruising developing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

Arthur barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, everything their idol Hatton embodied.