Overview
- Judges scored the 10-round light-heavyweight bout 96-94, 96-94 and 95-95, giving Joshua Buatsi a majority decision over Zach Parker at Manchester’s Co-op Live.
- Official data showed Parker landed 100 of 326 punches (30.7%) to Buatsi’s 76 of 368 (20.7%), reinforcing widespread belief that Parker did more effective work.
- Full scorecards revealed Buatsi being favored in several late rounds, a distribution that intensified fan anger and calls for accountability for the officials.
- The contest was messy with persistent clinching and multiple drops from clinches, with each fighter arguing the other should have been penalized for tactics in the tie-ups.
- Parker said he was fuming and insisted he won clearly, while Buatsi admitted it was not his best performance but defended the result as a win, as records moved to 20-1 for Buatsi and 27-4 for Parker.