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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive start to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by boos from the spectators.

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

Various analysts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-fight professional journey.

The Champion Secures Triumph in Slow Encounter

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

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers ready to overcommit in a cagey early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to edge the more effective stanzas.

The crowd's patience diminished during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Fight

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight title.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".

The competition within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured early, noticeable damage forming under his face as the pair exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration the legend represented.