WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson wasn’t taking any responsibility for his fight against challenger Artem Harutyunyan, failing to impress fans the way he had hoped at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Shakur Expresses Frustration with Opponent’s Tactics
After the fight, Shakur shifted all the blame on Hartutyunyan (13-2, 7 KOs), saying he was running from him and just trying to survive. The scores were 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112.
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) looked like he was too worried about getting caught, which is why he didn’t go on the attack. Harutyunyan hit him with solid punches when he was attacking, exposing his lack of defense in attack mode.
Harutyunyan used movement in the second half of the fight because he was tired and didn’t have the energy to stand and fight Shakur the way a younger fighter would.
For example, if this had been 20-year-old Abdullah Mason Shakur fighting, he wouldn’t have had to worry about him gassing out and running. Harutyunyan had already showed in his previous fight against Frank Martin that he’s only a six-round fighter, and has nothing left in the second half of his fights.
“He did exactly what I said he was going to do. I was trying to cut him off, but the dude was just trying to survive,” said Shakur Stevenson at the post-fight press conference, blaming his opponent Artem Harutyunyan for his failure to impress tonight.
“He was tougher than I expected him to be. He would fight back and just do a little bit to keep me from getting a stoppage,” said Shakur.
He couldn’t stop Harutyunyan, even if he had stood and fought him rather than moving because his power wasn’t there.
“If I can’t get these fights, I’m cool with it. I’m happy and making millions of dollars. My family is good,” said Shakur about his attitude if he fails to get the fights he wants against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Vasily Lomachenko. “I can’t force those fights to happen if these guys don’t want to fight me.”
After tonight, Shakur’s chances of getting fights against Tank and Lomachenko may have dropped even more than it already was.
“In the first three or four rounds, I was trying to get adjusted,” said Shakur about his opponent Harutyunyan. “He’s not like a normal fighter. He was bouncing. So, he would give a little feint and then throw some punches.
“Then I was like, ‘Okay, I’m getting a little adjusted,’ but then after a little while, I was like, ‘Let me pick it up and start stepping to this dude. I started stepping to him. He’s an okay fighter. He knows how to survive.”
Harutyunyan out-fought Shakur in at least two of the final six rounds of the bout. He wasn’t running. He was moving, stopping and throwing shots.
“These guys come to survive, and their objective is to make sure they make it twelve rounds. I did what I could [to entertain fans]. I let my hands go at times and put some punishment on him at times. That dude was just making sure he stayed on his feet,” said Shakur about Harutyunyan.
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