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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

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

The scoring judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.

"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.

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 believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout career.

The Champion Secures Victory in Slow Affair

His career development has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.

Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better stanzas.

The audience's tolerance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.

The victor advances, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a terrific all-Manchester fight to secure the continental title.

The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".

The competition within the ring matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow squarely on the face in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.

But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling forming under his orbital area as the fighters traded powerful shots.

Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were relentless and brave, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.