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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

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

But the challenger found success, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.

The officials scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.

The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Various analysts felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-match career.

The Champion Claims Victory in Uneventful Affair

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

Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a last chance - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.

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

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the more effective rounds.

The audience's tolerance decreased because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during grappling.

Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor progresses, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

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

The stadium grew hushed for a deeply poignant tribute before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.

It was the premier televised fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence became a chant of "there's only one Hatton".

The competition within the ring reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising forming under his eye as the fighters landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, everything their inspiration Hatton stood for.