British light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the win but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Match
His career development has stalled in recent years through management issues and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the next star of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who utilized a solid defense to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance diminished because of frequent holding, with Parker going down several times during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor advances, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to capture the continental championship.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as ten bells tolled in memory of local hero Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the final chime ended, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the pair traded hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with judges scorecards of even score, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were determined and courageous, everything their inspiration Hatton embodied.
