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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a decision win over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the contest.

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

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.

The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Affair

The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.

Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to edge the cleaner rounds.

The crowd's patience wore thin amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light heavyweight belt.

The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the silence became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow squarely on the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.

But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the fighters traded hard punches.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, all the qualities their hero Hatton stood for.