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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the action.

The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95.

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

The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers felt the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the win but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Earns Win in Dull Match

His career development has stalled in recent times through management issues and long spells of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.

He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a calculated early stages.

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

By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to barely take the more effective stanzas.

The crowd's patience wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during clinches.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Contest

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

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.

It was the first major televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness became a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.

But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling developing under his face as the pair exchanged powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, everything their idol Hatton represented.