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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.

Two judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by boos from the audience.

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

Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Affair

The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a calculated early stages.

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

By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a protective stance to edge the better periods.

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

The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just one round.

The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester fight to secure the continental title.

The venue fell silent for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells sounded in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a significant blow flush on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured early, significant bruising appearing under his orbital area as the fighters traded hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and courageous, exactly what their idol the legend represented.