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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under recent management with a points victory over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.

Two judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.

The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.

Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Match

The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the cleaner periods.

The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with Parker going down multiple occasions during clinches.

The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

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

Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental title.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet became a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the eight count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the pair exchanged punishing blows.

Rea, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.

Arthur barely secured the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their idol the legend represented.