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British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a majority decision in a close ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing spoiling the action.

The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a even score.

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

The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, merited the win but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Encounter

His career development has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.

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

The spectators' acceptance diminished because of constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.

Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.

The victor progresses, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Local Rivalry Fight

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry fight to secure the continental belt.

The stadium became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the quiet became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling forming under his face as the duo landed punishing blows.

Rea, 27, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend stood for.