Shakur Stevenson, for better or worse, now controls his own destiny

The mission for Shakur Stevenson on Saturday was clear: win, do so convincingly and, for the love of all that’s holy, look good doing it.

But beauty in the ring, as we’ve seen time and again, is very much in the eye of the beholder.

Stevenson, a 27-year-old lightweight titleholder, on Saturday had his way with yet another opponent at the Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, easily besting Artem Harutyunyan with his speed, timing and keenly sharpened ring IQ. He proved his health and closed out the contract he believes held him back from making the biggest fights possible.

Now? It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for Stevenson.

In the ring after the close of Saturday’s show, ESPN’s Mark Kriegel even went there himself, in so many words. Noting that Stevenson had said before the fight that he was intent on proving “I’m that guy,” Kriegel asked if the fighter had done so against Harutyunyan.

“It’s kind of hard to prove it,” Stevenson said, “if you don’t got a fighter trying to fight back, he’s just trying to make sure he survived. But he’s a good fighter. He’s tough, strong, and I would have wanted him to try a little harder, so that way it could be a more fun fight.”

That’s hardly an emphatic “yes,” but give credit to Stevenson for nuance in an industry that rarely traffics in it. Nuance, however, doesn’t travel well across the ropes, and it is arguably the public’s lack of understanding and appreciation for Stevenson’s too-good-for-his-own-good gifts that have left him in his current position.

Consider: He is 22-0 as a professional, having handed four opponents their first loss and defeated nine others who had only one loss at the time of their meeting. He has outclassed quality fighters in Joet Gonzalez, Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez, among others. Although CompuBox statistics are not the end-all-be-all, it’s worth noting that he ranks No. 1 in plus-minus – over Jesse Rodriguez, Dmitry Bivol and Vasiliy Lomachenko – by a long shot. Stevenson fully embodies the concept of hit and don’t be hit.

On the other hand, Stevenson has only 10 knockouts as a pro, including just one in his past five fights. Saturday’s return came off a desultory, though injury-plagued, performance in a win over Edwin De Los Santos last November. Feel free to blame Top Rank, but Stevenson has yet to face an elite-level opponent. And when a Google search of “punch women Miami parking garage” yields results with your name attached at the top of the list, you’ve lost the high ground for pointing fingers.

We can only guess the next steps for Stevenson, but whatever they may be, it’s a good sign that he’s shown a willingness to hold himself accountable. He refused to make excuses for the De los Santos fight, despite essentially fighting one-handed. And speaking to Kriegel about Harutyunyan, Stevenson said, “I know I did everything I could to get him out of there,” then backtracked: “I got to cut off the ring a little bit more. I sent him one way and he’d go the other way, so I’m gonna go back into the gym and work on cutting off the ring.”

In any case, Stevenson is no longer encumbered (for the moment) by promotional politics. He can now make his own bed. But that’s a blessing, of course, only until the time comes to lie in it. Does Stevenson have a plan?

“We’ll see,” Stevenson told Kriegel. “Like I said, I want to fight the best fighters in boxing. That’s how you gonna get to see the best version of me – when you put me in the ring with somebody else that want to fight back and compete. That’s how you’ll get the best out of me.”

Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, has contributed to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be followed on X and LinkedIn, and emailed at [email protected].