British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a fight where the approaches never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what defines champions? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Triumph in Dull Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors ready to take risks in a cagey opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the better rounds.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of frequent holding, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Manchester Derby Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry contest to secure the European light heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells tolled in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes matched the feeling. Arthur was floored by a left hook squarely on the jaw in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up early, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the fighters landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over the full distance.
Arthur edged the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and full of heart, everything their inspiration Hatton embodied.
