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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.

The officials had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.

The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th pro success.

Various analysts believed the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Uneventful Affair

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

Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to edge the cleaner periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.

Parker closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi advances, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester battle to capture the European light heavyweight title.

The stadium fell silent for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of the city's native Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's only one Hatton".

The action during the bout matched the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.

Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.

Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, everything their inspiration Hatton represented.