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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to his career under recent management with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

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

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced boos from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Match

The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.

Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a cagey initial rounds.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner stanzas.

The crowd's patience decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were difficult to score. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Contest

In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the continental title.

The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells tolled in honor of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.

It was the first major televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the stillness gave way to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.

But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling developing under his face as the fighters traded powerful shots.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

Arthur barely secured the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and brave, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton embodied.