WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is undefeated, but he needs to produce a dominant performance when he faces Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday night, July 6th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, live on ESPN.
Stevenson is a highly skilled ring technician, but sometimes his bouts lack the action that fight fans want to see. The last time Stevenson was in the ring, he didn’t lose the fight, but he did lose some credibility.
Shakur Stevenson made his lightweight debut back in April 2023 when he faced undefeated Japanese boxer Shuichiro Yoshino. With 1:17 remaining in the second round, Stevenson landed a sharp left-hand shot that sent Yoshino down to the canvas.
Stevenson would go on to score a second knockdown in the fourth round when he connected with a three-punch combination. Shakur continued to land flush shots for the next round and a half until the referee stepped in and put a halt to the contest.
With Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, George Kambosos Jr, and Frank Martin all passing on the opportunity to face Shakur Stevenson, it gave the appearance that Stevenson was the boogeyman at 135.
Finally, the hard-hitting Edwin De Los Santos stepped up to the challenge.
The Stevenson-De Los Santos bout took place in November 2023. In the opening round of the battle for the vacant WBC lightweight world title, Shakur Stevenson started the fight by landing a sharp jab. Unfortunately, for the next eleven rounds, the jab was basically the only punch Stevenson showcased.
Stevenson was hesitant to engage, while De Los Santos was unable to close the distance. The frustrated crowd consistently booed during the last eight rounds of the fight. Neither fighter landed double-digit punches in any of the 12 rounds.
Stevenson is a master at controlling distance, but during his fight with De Los Santos some viewed his actions as distance control, and others viewed it as running. At the conclusion of the contest, Shakur Stevenson earned a unanimous decision victory by the scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112.
The fans continued to boo while Stevenson conducted his post-fight interview inside of the ring. Stevenson understood the crowds’ frustration as he went on to admit that his performance was subpar.
“I had a bad performance tonight,” Stevenson said. “That’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll have to live with it. It’s okay. I came in and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do.”
A frustrated Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) also participated in a post-fight interview. The Dominican boxer verbalized his frustration in regards to the fight and the results.
“I came here to fight, and he came for a track meet. I wouldn’t say I’m on his level, but I would say I’m above his level because I came to fight tonight. I came to put on a fight, but Shakur Stevenson decided not to fight. He was gifted a title,” De Los Santos stated.
After his lukewarm performance, Stevenson received a substantial amount of criticism from the boxing community. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would later reveal that Stevenson fought with a shoulder injury that he suffered during training camp.
Now, the newly crowned WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is set to make his first title defense. His opponent Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) is coming off of a close loss to Frank Martin.
Due to his last fight, Shakur Stevenson’s reputation took a hit. In order to vindicate himself, Stevenson has to dominate Harutyunyan on Saturday night, July 6th, in front of his hometown crowd.
An impressive win against Harutyunyan is good, but it may not be enough to repair the damage caused from the De Los Santos fight. The path Shakur could take to earn the status of the best at 135 is to dominate Harutyunyan, rematch De Los Santos, then challenge WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
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