Shakur Stevenson, WBC lightweight champion, is calling his opponent Artem Harutyunyan a risky one for him on July 6th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
A Mismatch in the Eyes of Fans
The fight is seen as a mismatch in the eyes of fans because Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs) is coming off a twelve-round unanimous loss to Frank Martin last year on July 15, 2023, and he didn’t look good in that losing effort.
Harutyunyan has very little power and nothing in his game that would make him a risky opponent for Shakur.
“My focus is July 6; we got a tough fight in Artem. He got real good feet, likes to move, likes to pressure with his feet; we got to figure the puzzle out and break the code. I love it; I think that it’s a thrill with the risk that I’m taking,” said Shakur to Kevin Iole.
Another Cherry Pick for Shakur?
This fight is another cherry-pick for Shakur, who hasn’t faced any big names. You can’t blame that entirely on him, as his promoters at Top Rank have been unable to get him the top guys he wants.
However, it is partially Shakur’s fault because the safety-first fighting style has made him someone the top fighters don’t want to fight because he’s not there to be hit. Shakur lands single shots and then retreats immediately.
Catching him to land back is impossible, making it hard on his opponents. Stevenson needs an impressive performance in this fight because it’s his last one with Top Rank, and he’ll be a free agent. He must look as good as possible to get the deal he wants.
Shakur needs to think of the Harutyunyan fight as an audition for a part because he wants to get the best deal possible with a new promoter or re-signing with Top Rank. He can’t do that if he runs all night against Harutyunyan and is booed out of the Prudential Center.
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