Joshua Buatsi suffered his first loss in February, losing a 12-round decision to Callum Smith that dipped his record to 19-1. Tonight, the light heavyweight, a former Olympic bronze medalist, got back on the winning track at the expense of Zach Parker in Manchester, but it was a lackluster performance that, if anything, diminished Buatsi’s standing in the court of public opinion. Two of the judges favored the 32-year-old, Ghana-born Londoner, turning in cards of 96-94, with the third judge rating it a draw (95-95). The verdict shocked the DAZN talking heads.

Buatsi, who had been training in California’s East Bay Area under Virgil Hunter, former trainer of Andre Ward, was making his debut as a Queensberry fighter. He was a 5/1 favorite over Parker (26-1, 18 KOs) heading in) who had won four straight since getting upset by John Ryder, a bout in which he was pulled out after four frames with a broken hand, a loss cost him a lucrative payday with Canelo Alvarez.

Parker out-boxed Buatsi during the early milling, but couldn’t sustain the momentum. During the later rounds, he fought on the retreat and frequently broke a clinch by flopping to the canvas. Promoter Frank Warren said the winner of this match would have a clear path to a world title fight, but Buatsi vs. (for example) David Morrell would be a tough sell.

Other Bouts of Note

There were three other light heavyweight fights on the card including a 12-rounder in the co-feature, an intra-Greater Manchester squabble between Lyndon Arthur and defending European titlist Bradley Rea (pictured below with his mentor, the late Ricky Hatton). The veteran, Lyndon Arthur, survived a second-round knockdown to score a mild upset, winning a majority decision by scores of 115-112. 115-113, and 114-114.

Rea, now 21-2, entered the contest on a seven-fight winning streak. He took an early lead after dropping Arthur to canvas with a hard left hook, but returned to his stool after round two with a damaged left eye, enabling Arthur to control the second half of the fight with uppercuts and his unerring jab.

The 34-year-old Arthur, now 25-3 (16), remains a relevant campaigner on the domestic boxing scene. This was his best win since his 2020 upset of Anthony Yarde, a setback that Yarde avenged twice.

In yet another mild upset, veteran Liam Cameron overcame a slow start (and several low blows) to cop a 10-round unanimous decision over Troy Jones (13-2). The scores were 96-94, 96-94, and a dubious 97-93.

A former Commonwealth middleweight champion, Cameron, who improved to 24-7-1 (10), returned to the ring in 2023 after a five-year absence precipitated by a failed drug test. Troy Jones’ original opponent, Oleksandr Usyk prodigy Daniel Lapin, backed out with an undisclosed injury, allowing Cameron, 35, to breathe new life into a flagging career.

In an 8-rounder, former kickboxing standout Billy Deniz advanced to 14-0 (5) with a lackluster decision over Nigeria’s Ezra Arenyeka (14-2). Deniz prevailed by a 79-74 tally on the card of referee Steve Gray.

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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