Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) made the first defense of his WBC lightweight title Saturday night, decisioning Artem Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) in front of his hometown fans at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. He failed to truly impress.
A lot had been made about this Saturday’s contest being Stevenson’s last under his Top Rank promotional contract. The thought was that the 27-year-old would be aiming to impress in front of his hometown fans as he sells himself to the world, via ESPN platform, as a bankable free agent on the open market.
Instead, the three-division world champ and Olympic silver medalist did what he always does, much to the consternation of fans and media.
Stevenson picked and poked his way through the entirety of the contest, doing just enough to win nearly every round against a game, but ultimately not-talented-enough Harutyunyan. The official judges’ tally had Shakur winning a unanimous decision by scores of 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112.
If there was another gear for Stevenson to kick into, he didn’t even attempt to do so. As has been his character profile for most of his professional career, the talented boxer did just enough to win and never opened himself up to risk by stepping on the gas to try for a knockout. Frustrated fans booed the hometown champion at various points of the fight and ESPN would even cut to fans leaving the arena before the final round.
After the bout, Stevenson said that the boos were for Harutyunyan, who he claimed refused to engage. The reality, though, was that the boos were all for him.
It’s hard to imagine Top Rank wanting to invest more money and time in promoting a fighter like Stevenson, who continues to deliver uninspired performances and refuses to add more fan-friendly flair to his outings. It’s also hard to see any other promoter wanting to get into the Shakur Stevenson business when he’s probably best known now for NOT putting on a good show.
There are a couple of big fights, though, for a free agent Shakur. For instance, a showdown with Gervonta “Tank” Davis would probably sell well, even with Shakur bringing in the vibe of a fighter who doesn’t take many risks.
In the meantime, we’ll likely see Stevenson testing the waters as a free agent, even though Saturday’s showing did nothing to boost his market value.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com