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

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.

"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.

The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, 31, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Win in Dull Affair

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.

Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a cagey opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the cleaner periods.

The audience's tolerance wore thin because of regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during close exchanges.

The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Fight

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The arena became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial before the fight as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.

It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the quiet gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage developing under his face as the duo exchanged powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton embodied.