British light-heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a majority decision in a competitive 10-round fight at the boxing arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling clean blows in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the action.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor said in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts believed Parker, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the contender endured the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
His career development has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - perhaps in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a tentative initial rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was making just his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the more effective rounds.
The crowd's patience diminished because of frequent holding, with the challenger going down several times during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but multiple periods were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor advances, but with the presence of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Fuels Manchester Derby Fight
In the supporting bout, Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a excellent all-Manchester contest to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The stadium became quiet for a deeply poignant homage ahead of the contest as 10 bells sounded in memory of local hero Ricky Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the final chime ended, the quiet became a chant of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch directly to the chin in the second round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling forming under his face as the fighters traded hard punches.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the intensity seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor edged the result with scoring tallies of 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and brave, all the qualities their hero the legend stood for.
