🔗 Share this article

UK light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.

But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the fight.

The officials scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95.

"It wasn't my best display but what defines champions? They succeed," the victor stated in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the audience.

The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.

Various analysts felt the challenger, 31, merited the decision but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.

The Champion Secures Victory in Uneventful Encounter

Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through management issues and long spells of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.

He opened tentatively, with the two boxers ready to overcommit in a calculated opening few rounds.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.

By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the cleaner stanzas.

The audience's tolerance diminished during frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

In the co-main event, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester fight to win the continental title.

The stadium became quiet for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in honor of local hero Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the silence transitioned to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch flush on the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.

But the traditional red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, noticeable damage forming under his orbital area as the duo exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.

Arthur edged the verdict with judges scorecards of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.