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UK light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a split decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.

Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my finest display but what defines champions? They succeed," the victor said in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.

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

Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Secures Triumph in Dull Match

Buatsi's progress has plateaued in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.

Parker, 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 competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to edge the better rounds.

The crowd's patience wore thin amid regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during clinches.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.

The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.

It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes equaled the emotion. Arthur was floored by a left hook squarely on the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.

Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, all the qualities their hero Hatton stood for.