British light heavyweight Buatsi secured a victory yet disappointing beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round bout at the boxing arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, connecting with powerful clean blows in a contest where the approaches didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching marring the contest.
The officials judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best display but what do champions do? They win," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter got back to winning after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with his previous opponent in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, 31, deserved the win but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-fight professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - perhaps in what feels like a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand in the contest, was participating in his second fight at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to barely take the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but multiple periods were difficult to score. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for Parker, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Homage Motivates Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by divided decision in a outstanding all-Manchester battle to win the European light-heavyweight championship.
The venue grew hushed for a profoundly moving homage before the fight as 10 bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the silence became a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The action within the ring equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the early round, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, Rea - in opposing blue - was damaged early, noticeable damage appearing under his face as the pair exchanged hard punches.
Rea, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, fought fire with fire with powerful upward punches as the action hardly diminished over the full distance.
The victor edged the decision with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were persistent and courageous, exactly what their idol Hatton represented.
