British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming debut to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the action.
The officials scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest display but what do champions do? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts believed the challenger, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the contender endured the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of UK boxing, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with both competitors prepared to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who worked behind a protective stance to narrowly win the better periods.
The crowd's patience decreased during frequent holding, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi advances, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur overcame Rea by split-decision in a excellent local rivalry battle to win the European light heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in honor of local hero Hatton, who died at age 46 in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell ended, the silence transitioned to a chant of "only one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout equaled the sentiment. Arthur was floored by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up quickly, noticeable damage forming under his face as the pair traded powerful shots.
Rea, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur edged the decision with official scores of even score, narrow lead and clearer margin, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, exactly what their hero the legend embodied.
