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UK light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, delivering effective single shots in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.

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

"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts believed the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-match career.

The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Affair

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.

The spectators' acceptance diminished during regular grabbing, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.

Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to win the continental belt.

The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells rang in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet gave way to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the duo traded hard punches.

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

The victor edged the decision with official scores of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and brave, everything their hero the legend embodied.