British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a split decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, delivering effective single shots in a fight where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing disrupting the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi stated in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, deserved the victory but the contender experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Uneventful Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent times through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what seems like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter willing to overcommit in a tentative early stages.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a protective stance to barely take the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down several times during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but many rounds were difficult to score. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to win the European light heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as a bell ceremony rang in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.
It was the premier televised match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the silence transitioned to a shout of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was floored by a significant blow flush on the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling forming under his face as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with judges scorecards of even score, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, all the qualities their inspiration the legend stood for.
