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UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive start to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a split decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the boxing arena.

But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.

Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.

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

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts thought the challenger, 31, merited the victory but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Encounter

His career development has plateaued in recent years through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.

He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a tentative early stages.

Parker, 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 fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The spectators' acceptance wore thin during frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during clinches.

The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Fight

In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent local rivalry fight to win the European light-heavyweight title.

The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as 10 bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a shout of "only one Hatton".

The fighting within the ring reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the eight count.

But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was injured quickly, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the duo exchanged hard punches.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.