British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round fight at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger found success, connecting with powerful single shots in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with constant grabbing disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to the winner, with the remaining official a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They prevail," Buatsi commented in the arena as he was greeted with boos from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Dull Match
His career development has stalled in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter willing to take risks in a tentative opening few rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second fight at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to barely take the cleaner periods.
The spectators' acceptance diminished amid constant clinching, with the challenger slipping to the canvas several times during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - judging by this showing - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester contest to capture the continental championship.
The stadium grew hushed for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in last month.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the stillness became a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook flush on the face in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up soon, significant bruising forming under his face as the fighters exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, fought fire with fire with effective uppercuts as the intensity seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with scoring tallies of draw, close margin and clearer margin, but the two athletes were relentless and brave, everything their inspiration the legend stood for.
