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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to life under new promoters with a decision win over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the action.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a even score.

"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by boos from the audience.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.

Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-match career.

The Champion Earns Win in Slow Affair

His career development has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.

Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to overcommit in a calculated early stages.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.

The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow directly to the face in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling forming under his face as the duo traded hard punches.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, everything their hero Hatton represented.