Buatsi edges Parker by controversial majority decision

Controversy surrounded the night from the final bell to the reading of the cards, with the DAZN ringside team unanimous in their assessment that Zach Parker had won by a wide margin, and loud booing greeted the result. Joshua Buatsi nevertheless edged Parker over ten rounds at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, taking a majority decision by scores of 96–94, 96–94 and 95–95. The bout, contested at light-heavyweight for the WBA International title, was a scrappy affair with extended clinches and frequent interruptions. Three ringside officials returned the tallies after a contest that rarely settled into rhythm. Michael Alexander refereed.

The opening session belonged to Parker’s cleaner scoring. A short left uppercut jarred Buatsi and dislodged his mouthpiece, an early sign that Parker’s work at mid-range could reach the target. Through the second and third rounds, Parker moved well, stepped off after single shots, and looked to counter as Buatsi tried to close the gap. Buatsi advanced behind a high guard but struggled to put combinations together, often finding his forward steps smothered before he could let his hands go.

Parker’s best spell continued into the fourth, when he clipped Buatsi with compact right hands thrown from close quarters. From there, the action deteriorated. Parker began to tie up consistently after landing, leaning into clinches and going to ground more than once, which slowed the exchanges and drew interventions from the referee. By the end of the fifth, with Parker’s output dropping, his corner urged him not to retreat into his shell. The sixth was largely uneventful, with neither man establishing sustained offence.

Buatsi forced the pace in the later frames, trying to walk Parker to the ropes and work in bursts when he had the room. The seventh saw him press with more urgency, and although much of the wrestling persisted, his forward momentum and the occasional body shot made an impression. The eighth was again thin on clean punches, one of the poorest rounds of the contest, before a modest upturn arrived in the ninth and tenth as both men attempted to finish strongly. The final bell rang, leaving the crowd uncertain, and the judges were left to sift through marginal rounds shaped as much by posture and initiative as by precise, damaging blows.

The totals favoured Buatsi by two cards with one even, enough to secure the decision and the secondary strap after ten untidy rounds. Still, the debate over the verdict overshadowed the announcement. Parker’s early accuracy and spoil-heavy tactics contrasted with Buatsi’s late push, and the balance between those themes decided the ledger in a fight noted for its lack of flow. The discontent in the arena and the broadcast team’s strong view that Parker had done more than enough ensured the result closed as it began—under a cloud of controversy.