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British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the contest.

The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a even score.

"It wasn't my finest display but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor stated in the arena as he was faced boos from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Match

His career development has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance wore thin because of constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.

The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just one round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Contest

In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight title.

The arena grew hushed for a deeply poignant homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the silence transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a significant blow directly to the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.

But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the pair landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the verdict with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, exactly what their hero the legend embodied.