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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.

The officials judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor commented in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the spectators.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Triumph in Slow Encounter

His career development has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to edge the better periods.

The audience's tolerance decreased amid constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Battle

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry fight to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a roar of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his eye as the duo landed punishing blows.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.