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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the action.

Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the audience.

The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, deserved the decision but the British boxer endured the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Secures Win in Slow Encounter

The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.

The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with Parker going down several times during clinches.

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to capture the continental belt.

The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died 46 years old in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the stillness became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting during the bout reflected the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.

But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over the full distance.

The victor narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, exactly what their idol Hatton embodied.