British light heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a tight ten-round contest at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.
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 felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Earns Triumph in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the better rounds.
The crowd's patience wore thin amid frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during clinches.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Hatton Homage Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by divided decision in a outstanding local rivalry fight to win the continental championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as a bell ceremony tolled in memory of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet became a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the fighters traded punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor edged the decision with official scores of 114-114, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, everything their hero Hatton stood for.
