Shakur Stevenson successfully weighed in on Friday for the title defense of his WBC lightweight title against upset-minded Artem Harutyunyan for their headliner on ESPN. The card will be shown live on ESPN this Saturday, July 6th, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) weighed 134.1 pounds. The challenger, Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs), weighed 134.8 lbs for their twelve-round fight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
During the face-off, both fighters smiled. Harutyunyan turned away first, moving in front of Shakur for a double biceps pose and upstaging him. Shakur didn’t bother to move in front of Harutyunyan but instead continued to smile with a look that read, ‘I got this one in the bag. No problem. Top Rank fixed me up with this non-puncher.’
Other Fights on the Card
In the chief support bout, WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster (129.9 lbs) defends against his #1 WBC contender, Robson Conceicao (129.5 lbs).
Lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis (134.8 lbs), sporting long hair that he frequently had to wipe away from covering his eyes, will fight Miguel Madueno (134.7 lbs) in a 10-round contest.
To show his opponent, who’s boss, Keyshawn showed Madueno no respect during the face-off, pointing his finger inches away.
The security had to step in because Keyshawn was going overboard, looking to encourage a Madueno to smack him, but thankfully, he resisted. The last thing fans needed was one of them to get injured.
Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (134.8 lbs) fights Luis Lebron (135.8 lbs) in an eight-round contest in the first match of the televised portion of the card on ESPN.
Full Weigh-in results
Shakur Stevenson 134.1 vs. Artem Harutyunyan 134.8
O’Shaquie Foster 129.9 vs. Robson Conceicao 129.5
Keyshawn Davis 134.8 vs. Miguel Madueno 134.7
Abdullah Mason 134.8 vs. Luis Lebron 135.8
Shakur Stevenson’s Future Uncertain
Saturday’s fight will be Shakur’s final fight on his contract with Top Rank, which will send him into the free agent market.
Stevenson believes that one of the other promoters will quickly sign him, line him up for his dream fight against Gervonta Davis, and turn him into a PPV star.
While Shakur will definitely be signed by someone, it’s questionable whether they’ll be able to get him a fight against Tank Davis, and it’s harder still to make him a PPV draw due to his fighting style.
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