British light-heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling single shots in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The officials judged it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the spectators.
The Londoner bounced back after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts believed Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the contender experienced the second setback of his 28-bout career.
The Champion Earns Victory in Slow Encounter
His career development has slowed in recent times through management issues and extended periods of lack of fights.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of British boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - possibly in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in two years ago after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, causing problems for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the better stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during regular grabbing, with the challenger falling to the floor various instances during grappling.
Parker closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Nevertheless, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for the challenger, giving Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the caliber of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Inspires All-Manchester Contest
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The arena grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells sounded in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in September.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness became a roar of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the chin in the early round, rising shakily to his position on the referee's count.
But the traditional red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was marked up soon, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and full of heart, all the qualities their idol the legend embodied.
