🔗 Share this article

British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to his career under new promoters with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.

The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the boxing arena.

But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the action.

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

"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor commented in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.

The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th pro success.

Several boxing experts believed the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second loss of his 28-bout career.

Buatsi Earns Triumph in Dull Encounter

Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent years through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.

Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under recent support.

He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a calculated early stages.

The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.

By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the cleaner rounds.

The audience's tolerance decreased amid regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during close exchanges.

The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. However, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.

The victor progresses, but with the caliber of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.

Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight

In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.

The stadium fell silent for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.

It was the first major televised match card in the location since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".

The competition within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the chin in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.

But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling forming under his face as the pair landed hard punches.

The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.

The victor edged the verdict with official scores of draw, 115-113 and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, everything their hero the legend represented.