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UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the action.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was met by boos from the crowd.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th pro success.

Various analysts thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the victory but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight career.

The Champion Earns Triumph in Dull Encounter

The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the cleaner rounds.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.

Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. However, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels Local Rivalry Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to secure the European light heavyweight championship.

The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting during the bout reflected the emotion. Arthur was floored by a significant blow flush on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the fighters landed powerful shots.

The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their idol the legend embodied.