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UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a tight 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding marring the contest.

The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.

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

The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th pro success.

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

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Encounter

His career development has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.

The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.

By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective periods.

The crowd's patience diminished because of regular grabbing, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.

The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.

Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Contest

In the co-main event, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester contest to capture the continental championship.

The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.

It was the premier televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime faded, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".

The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.

But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured early, significant bruising appearing under his orbital area as the fighters landed powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.

The victor narrowly won the verdict with judges scorecards of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend stood for.