British light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet unimpressive debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the techniques never quite clicked, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Claims Victory in Slow Encounter
Buatsi's progress has stalled in the past few years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with the two boxers prepared to take risks in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a tight guard to edge the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific all-Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium fell silent for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as 10 bells rang in memory of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised match card in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the pair landed punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the result with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but each competitor were persistent and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton represented.
