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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the fight.

The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, merited the win but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight career.

The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter

His career development has slowed in recent times through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the cleaner periods.

The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Contest

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.

The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.

It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness gave way to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage developing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

Arthur barely secured the decision with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, exactly what their idol Hatton stood for.