British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the styles failed to mesh, with frequent clinching spoiling the fight.
Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor commented in the ringside as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The British fighter bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Slow Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the next star of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - perhaps in what appears to be a last chance - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors ready to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had made it competitive, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to narrowly win the better stanzas.
The crowd's patience wore thin during frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
Parker ended stronger, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Homage Inspires Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Arthur beat Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific local rivalry fight to capture the continental title.
The stadium grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as a bell ceremony sounded in honor of the city's native Hatton, who passed away aged 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised match card in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound ended, the stillness gave way to a chant of "there's only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a left hook squarely on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged soon, noticeable damage appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor barely secured the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but the two athletes were relentless and full of heart, everything their idol Hatton stood for.
