British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a split decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling clean blows in a match where the approaches didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts thought Parker, 31, merited the win but the contender endured the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
The Champion Secures Win in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has stalled in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what appears to be a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the cleaner stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of constant clinching, with the challenger going down several times during close exchanges.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were difficult to score. Nevertheless, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still looks steep.
Hatton Homage Inspires Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry contest to secure the continental championship.
The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as ten bells rang in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet became a roar of "there's just one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the emotion. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook squarely on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the traditional red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over the full distance.
Arthur narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were persistent and courageous, everything their hero the legend embodied.
