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UK light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a tight 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But Parker found success, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.

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

"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They succeed," the victor said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.

The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to secure a 20th career victory.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Match

His career development has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the more effective periods.

The audience's tolerance wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor several times during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Motivates All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester contest to win the continental belt.

The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action during the bout matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook directly to the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured early, significant bruising appearing under his face as the pair landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor edged the decision with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their idol Hatton stood for.