Joshua Buatsi will stay in the light heavyweight race, at least for now, but even with a win over Zach Parker today, his prospects as a contender don’t look so strong.
The 32-year-old Buatsi won a majority
decision over Parker on scores of 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94, an outcome that stunned the DAZN commentary team, but probably wasn’t quite the robbery they made out.
Still, any majority decision is easy to argue about, and Parker (26-2, 18 KO) had a good case to be named the winner of a fairly uninspiring bout, which saw Buatsi (20-1, 13 KO) bounce back from his February loss to Callum Smith.
Parker, 31, will certainly feel he got the short end and might want a rematch, but unless Buatsi can’t find a bigger option — which frankly wouldn’t be that difficult — it’s hard to see the risk/reward split being worthwhile for today’s victor.
Lyndon Arthur (25-3, 16 KO) rallied from a second round knockdown to take the European light heavyweight title from Bradley Rea in the best fight of the evening in Manchester. Arthur took the belt in another majority decision on scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 115-112, a victory the veteran earned, and one where Rea (21-2, 10 KO) will surely feel he could and should have done better, but you have to credit Arthur for a steady performance after the rough start.
