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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate appeared to earn him a split decision in a tight ten-round contest at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest performance but how do champions respond? They win," the victor stated in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Triumph in Slow Match

The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.

The crowd's patience decreased during frequent holding, with Parker going down various instances during grappling.

Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Hatton Homage Motivates All-Manchester Battle

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to win the European light heavyweight championship.

The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.

It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The action during the bout matched the feeling. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend embodied.