British light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming beginning to his career under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the win but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Uneventful Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the cleaner periods.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue became quiet for a deeply poignant homage before the fight as a bell ceremony rang in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the sentiment. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the face in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were determined and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton stood for.
