British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the contest.
The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, 31, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Earns Win in Slow Encounter
His career development has slowed in recent years through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the better rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased because of regular grabbing, with Parker falling to the floor several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental title.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the final chime faded, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged early, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the duo traded powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the decision with scoring tallies of draw, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their idol the legend stood for.
