UK light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming start to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger found success, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with excessive holding spoiling the contest.
The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but how do champions respond? They prevail," Buatsi said in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Dull Encounter
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who utilized a solid defense to edge the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience diminished during regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental title.
The stadium became quiet for a profoundly moving homage prior to the bout as ten bells sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The competition within the ring matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow flush on the face in the second round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.
But the red-colored attire of the fighter soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up early, noticeable damage developing under his orbital area as the pair landed powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, 34, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor edged the result with judges scorecards of draw, close margin and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and courageous, everything their hero the legend stood for.
