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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.

Two judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.

"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by boos from the spectators.

The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the British boxer endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Earns Win in Dull Match

The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was participating in his second bout at light heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the cleaner rounds.

The audience's tolerance decreased because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Fight

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.

The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in honor of local hero Hatton, who died 46 years old in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up early, significant bruising forming under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with official scores of draw, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton represented.