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British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the action.

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

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the ring as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Some ringside observers believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Match

His career development has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a calculated opening few 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 fight at light heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.

The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to win the European light-heavyweight championship.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the quiet gave way to a chant of "only one Hatton".

The action within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, rising shakily to his position on the eight count.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, noticeable damage developing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.

Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.

Arthur narrowly won the result with scoring tallies of draw, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, all the qualities their idol the legend stood for.