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British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close ten-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.

But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.

Two judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.

"It wasn't my best showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi said in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.

The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.

Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, deserved the win but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.

Buatsi Claims Win in Dull Match

His career development has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.

Previously predicted as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.

He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.

Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was making just his second bout at light heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the cleaner rounds.

The audience's tolerance diminished amid regular grabbing, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.

Parker closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.

Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still seems difficult.

Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.

The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.

It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Hatton".

The fighting during the bout equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook directly to the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.

But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured early, significant bruising developing under his face as the pair landed punishing blows.

Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, exactly what their inspiration the legend embodied.