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UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the action.

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

"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Earns Victory in Uneventful Encounter

His career development has slowed in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.

Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the more effective stanzas.

The audience's tolerance decreased amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.

Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to secure the continental belt.

The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell faded, the silence became a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting during the bout matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the fighters traded powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton represented.