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British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding marring the fight.

The officials judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.

"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the ringside as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.

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

Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, merited the victory but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-fight professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Uneventful Affair

His career development has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.

He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.

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

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to barely take the cleaner periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished during frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during close exchanges.

Parker closed well, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to capture the European light heavyweight belt.

The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.

It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the silence gave way to a roar of "only one Hatton".

The competition during the bout reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the fighters traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over twelve rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, everything their inspiration the legend represented.