UK light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The officials had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second defeat of his 28-match career.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to edge the more effective periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental title.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as ten bells tolled in memory of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition during the bout matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon advanced again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising developing under his eye as the pair landed powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of draw, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration the legend represented.
