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UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the boxing arena.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching marring the contest.

The officials scored it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by 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 career victory.

Several boxing experts felt the challenger, 31, merited the win but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Secures Win in Dull Match

The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - possibly in what appears to be a last chance - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter willing to take risks in a tentative early stages.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the more effective rounds.

The spectators' acceptance diminished amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during close exchanges.

Parker closed well, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Battle

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight title.

The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.

It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the silence became a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".

The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.

But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. Across the ring, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured soon, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the pair traded powerful shots.

The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over 12 rounds.

The victor narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration the legend embodied.