British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the spectators.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, merited the victory but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a tentative initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent all-Manchester contest to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of the city's native Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime disappeared, the silence gave way to a shout of "only one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the chin in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage appearing under his orbital area as the duo traded hard punches.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, 115-113 and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, everything their hero Hatton embodied.
