British light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing start to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced boos from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts believed the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Affair
His career development has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased during regular grabbing, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to capture the continental belt.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells tolled in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised fight night in the location since Hatton's death. As the last bell ended, the stillness became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition within the ring reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the duo exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, everything their idol the legend stood for.
