British light-heavyweight Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a competitive 10-round contest at the boxing arena.
But Parker found success, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing disrupting the contest.
Two judges had it 96-94 in favor to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but how do champions respond? They prevail," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in February - to claim a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt the challenger, thirty-one, merited the win but the contender endured the second loss of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Dull Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in recent years through management issues and considerable time of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now stands trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter prepared to overcommit in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to edge the cleaner periods.
The audience's tolerance decreased amid constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, former world champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just one round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur overcame Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the European light-heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells rang in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the premier televised match card in the location since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the initial stage, rising shakily to his feet on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was marked up quickly, heavy swelling appearing under his eye as the pair exchanged powerful shots.
Rea, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over 12 rounds.
The victor edged the decision with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and wider gap, but each competitor were persistent and full of heart, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.
