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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the fight.

The officials had it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor commented in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts felt the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Slow Encounter

The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a cagey opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the better rounds.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Fight

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.

The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.

But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.

The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.