🔗 Share this article

British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming start to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the Manchester venue.

But the challenger had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.

Two judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95.

"It wasn't my best showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor said in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.

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

Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Claims Victory in Slow Encounter

The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.

Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He began cautiously, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.

Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to edge the better stanzas.

The crowd's patience wore thin during frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.

Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.

The victor advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.

Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires All-Manchester Contest

In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester contest to capture the continental title.

The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.

It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound ended, the silence became a roar of "only one Hatton".

The competition during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.

But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up early, significant bruising developing under his eye as the duo exchanged hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.

The victor barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, everything their hero the legend represented.