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British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

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

But the challenger found success, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.

The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.

"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the arena as he was faced disapproval from the spectators.

The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, merited the win but the British boxer endured the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Slow Encounter

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the next star of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a cagey 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 appearance at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the better periods.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during grappling.

The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Fight

In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the European light heavyweight title.

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.

It was the first major televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes matched the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the eight count.

But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the duo traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

Arthur barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and brave, all the qualities their idol the legend represented.