British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the approaches failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was greeted with disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, deserved the victory but the British boxer experienced the second setback of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Slow Affair
His career development has stalled in recent times through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a tight guard to barely take the cleaner periods.
The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with Parker going down several times during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Battle
In the co-main event, Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry battle to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the silence became a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting within the ring reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a powerful punch directly to the jaw in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the duo landed punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the intensity hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with official scores of draw, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were relentless and courageous, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.
