British light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful individual punches in a fight where the techniques never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, 31, deserved the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Claims Victory in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to overcommit in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had made it competitive, causing problems for the favorite, who utilized a tight guard to edge the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker going down various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The venue fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the referee's count.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising appearing under his face as the pair landed powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the decision with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and clearer margin, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol the legend stood for.
