Shakur Stevenson’s post-fight comments about his opponent Artem Harutyinyan just coming to survive last Saturday night were amusing.
I laughed about it because Shakur (22-0,10 KOs) had done the same thing in his fight last November against Edwin De Los Santos at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Shakur might as well have talked about himself.
Stevenson’s Alternate Reality
“I looked for him on the left, and he came out on the right. I couldn’t hit him,” said Shakur in his post-fight interview following his successful defense of his WBC lightweight title against Harutyunyan (13-2, 7 KOs) at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
It seems that Stevenson lives in a kind of alternate reality in which he looks at himself as something he really isn’t and never will be. After his disastrous performance versus De Los Santos, Shakur justified that result by saying that sweet science is “Hitting and not being Hit.”
Hearing him say that the reason for his poor performance, not winning by KO, was that his rival did not allow him to be hit, was pointless, even crazy.
The Problem of Excessive Talk
I believe that one of Shakur’s big problems, as I think there are several, is not that he didn’t win the way the audience expected him to against Harutyunyan. His victory was expected long before the fight. He was the logical favorite, and that’s what happened. There was no surprise about the outcome.
The biggest problem facing Shakur Stevenson is that he doesn’t want to keep his mouth shut. Making a lot of noise before every fight and delivering a lousy performance like last night against a regular and unknown fighter like Harutyunyan doesn’t go with what he says he is, and it looks like he never will.
Seeing his performance, imagine Top Rank promoter Bob Arum smiling, remembering him saying, “Go out there and try to do what you want, but remember that here I will be waiting if what you do does not work for you.”
Misguided Style and Lack of Power
Then, he shreds his style and tries to find a reason for public rejection. I must say that it is not his fault what happened to him. The guilt seems to me to be of the people around him, who do not make him understand that he is not a powerful hitter. He’s a defensive genius and a physical powerhouse.
Seeing Shakur try to make an offensive fight against a medium-quality rival, Harutyunyam, gives you the answers. He doesn’t look good doing that because even when he throws his punches, his shoulder and head are erect, and he doesn’t push to hurt.
His feet are uncoordinated when executing offensively, and he doesn’t look well. Shakur is more concerned with defending himself and avoiding being hit than attacking and causing damage. Stevenson is a virtuous counterpuncher.
Fan Expectations and Marketability
We don’t know where Shakur’s career will lead after the fight with Artem. We can almost assure you that offers will not fall from the sky. Fans’ enthusiasm is a thermometer promoters use to measure a boxer’s reach. In boxing, the KO is like the home run in baseball. Everyone talks about famous home run hitters Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, but only a few of Ty Cobb or Pete Rose, who focused on hitting for average with singles.
Many fans were disappointed last Saturday night at what they witnessed from Shakur’s performance; others even left the Prudential Center long before the result was announced. And the boos that were heard in some rounds and at the end of the fight are something that Stevenson must pay close attention to. At times, there seemed to be some disagreements with his seconds in the corner, which raised many doubts about his immediate future.
I think his fights aren’t so dull. I don’t overvalue what he is as a boxer, and I like to see him do what he knows to do without trying to do something he’s not. I do not allow my expectations to rise, and I see their fights with restraint. Shakur Stevenson hates being beaten and doesn’t like the smell of leather on his nose, and that’s why he fights the way he does.
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