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

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the approaches failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.

The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best showing but how do champions respond? They win," the victor commented in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.

Some ringside observers thought the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Earns Victory in Uneventful Match

The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to take risks in a tentative initial rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to barely take the more effective stanzas.

The crowd's patience wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor various instances during grappling.

Parker closed well, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just one round.

The victor moves on, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Local Rivalry Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry battle to win the continental title.

The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.

It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the final chime ended, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch flush on the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the pair traded punishing blows.

The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.

Arthur narrowly won the decision with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but each competitor were determined and brave, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton represented.