WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson weighed in at 134.1 lbs while his opponent Artem Harutyunyan came in at 134.8 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in for their main event clash this Saturday night on July 6th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
During the face-off, a confident-looking Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) smiled at challenger Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs), who smiled back. To get the upper hand, Harutyunyan then turned and posed slightly in front of Shakur to show him he meant business on Saturday.
Weights for Saturday on ESPN
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
The event this Saturday night will be shown live on ESPN beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
Stevenson’s Critical Juncture
The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur is in a tough spot. He needs an impressive offensive performance to increase his chances of being offered a great deal by one of the other promoters. Stevenson, 27, is a purely defensive fighter with limited offensive skills and mostly throws single shots.
He’s not the type to stand and fight, which is why fans see him as boring, and it could hurt his chances of landing a sweet deal with another promotional company like Matchroom or PBC, especially if he turns in a dull performance against Harutyunyan.
This is the former three-division world champion Stevenson’s last fight on his contract with Top Rank, and he’ll be entering the free agent market.
Undercard Highlights: Keyshawn Davis’s Disrespectful Antics
WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster weighed 129.9 lbs in the co-feature weights. His opponent, Robson Conceicao, came in at 129.5 lbs. While Foster did a lot of smiling to show he was confident, it’s a fight he could lose.
Lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis (10-0, 7 KOs) weighed 134.8 lbs for his 10-round fight against Miguel Madueno (31-2, 28 KOs). For his part, Madueno weighed 134.7 lbs.
During the face-off, Keyshawn got in close to Madueno and repeatedly pointed his finger in his face, showing him no respect and attempting to intimidate him. Fortunately, this classless move by Keyshawn didn’t result in him getting punched, slapped, or shoved by Madueno.
Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs), arguably the only fighter with a chance of becoming a future superstar on Saturday’s card, weighed in at 134.8 lbs for his eight-round fight against Luis Lebron. For his part, Lebron weighed in at 135.8 lbs.
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