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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the action.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my best performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.

Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the win but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Match

The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter willing to take risks in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the more effective periods.

The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

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

Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Contest

In the supporting bout, Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to secure the European light-heavyweight title.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the silence gave way to a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the referee's count.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his eye as the pair exchanged powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

Arthur edged the verdict with judges scorecards of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were determined and courageous, everything their hero Hatton stood for.