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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.

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

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

"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor said in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.

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

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Slow Match

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

Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to narrowly win the better stanzas.

The crowd's patience diminished during regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels Manchester Derby Battle

In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.

The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet became a shout of "only one Hatton".

The competition during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the face in the second round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the duo landed punishing blows.

Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol the legend embodied.