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UK light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to life under recent management with a decision win over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my finest display but what defines champions? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-match career.

The Champion Claims Triumph in Uneventful Match

His career development has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during clinches.

Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Contest

In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry fight to capture the continental championship.

The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving memorial ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his face as the fighters traded hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over the full distance.

The victor narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, all the qualities their hero Hatton embodied.