British light heavyweight Buatsi made a winning yet disappointing start to life under recent management with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate appeared to earn him a majority decision in a competitive ten-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful individual punches in a contest where the techniques never quite clicked, with constant grabbing spoiling the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They prevail," the victor commented in the arena as he was greeted with disapproval from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed the challenger, thirty-one, merited the victory but the contender suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Claims Victory in Slow Match
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through promotional disputes 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 new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury in the contest, was participating in his second appearance at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had kept it close, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to edge the more effective rounds.
The crowd's patience decreased amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi advances, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Motivates Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as ten bells tolled in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed aged 46 in September.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet gave way to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action during the bout matched the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch squarely on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his position on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged soon, significant bruising forming under his eye as the duo traded hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the result with judges scorecards of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, everything their idol Hatton stood for.
