🔗 Share this article

British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing debut to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding spoiling the fight.

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

"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi said in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.

The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Secures Triumph in Slow Match

The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of lack of fights.

Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now stands trying to realize his potential - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.

He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the cleaner stanzas.

The spectators' acceptance decreased amid regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during close exchanges.

The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to win the European light heavyweight belt.

The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.

It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".

The action inside the ropes matched the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.

But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the duo landed powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor barely secured the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their hero the legend embodied.