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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.

The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced boos from the spectators.

The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers believed the challenger, 31, merited the win but the British boxer suffered the second setback of his 28-fight career.

The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Affair

Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of lack of fights.

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

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

The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the better rounds.

The spectators' acceptance decreased during constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

The victor advances, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Battle

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.

The stadium fell silent for a deeply poignant homage before the fight as 10 bells sounded in honor of local hero Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.

It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the stillness transitioned to a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring matched the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.

But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, significant bruising developing under his orbital area as the duo traded hard punches.

The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend represented.