British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to his career under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round bout at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective clean blows in a contest where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing spoiling the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the arena as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter willing to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the cleaner rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Battle
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as ten bells tolled in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a chant of "only one Hatton".
The fighting within the ring equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured soon, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were relentless and brave, all the qualities their inspiration the legend stood for.
