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British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to life under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.

But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches never quite clicked, with excessive holding disrupting the action.

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

"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They win," the victor commented in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.

The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Match

Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the cleaner periods.

The crowd's patience decreased because of constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires All-Manchester Contest

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by divided decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight title.

The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving homage ahead of the contest as a bell ceremony rang in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.

It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet gave way to a shout of "there's only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the count of eight.

But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the pair exchanged punishing blows.

Rea, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton embodied.