🔗 Share this article

British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.

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

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi said in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the spectators.

The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Affair

His career development has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.

The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.

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

The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry fight to secure the continental championship.

The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the silence became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch directly to the face in the second round, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged early, significant bruising appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged punishing blows.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and brave, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.