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

The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

Two judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a even score.

"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.

The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Claims Win in Dull Affair

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.

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

He started carefully, with both competitors willing to overcommit in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.

The crowd's patience diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.

Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Contest

In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry contest to capture the continental title.

The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of local hero Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound ended, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".

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

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his face as the duo traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, everything their hero the legend represented.