On the evening of July sixth on the Prudential Heart in Newark, New Jersey, WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson efficiently defended his title as he beat Artem Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous resolution.
Stevenson did what many anticipated him to, profitable by a large margin on the scorecards. Regardless of his ease in profitable the bout, the boxing neighborhood criticized him as a result of they didn’t recognize his efficiency.
In April 2023, Shakur Stevenson, a two-weight world champion, made his debut within the light-weight division. His first battle in his new weight class was profitable, as Stevenson posted a sixth-round TKO victory over Shuichiro Yoshino.
Shakur Stevenson had hassle staying busy as a result of Vasiliy Lomachenko, George Kambosos Jr, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, and Frank Martin turned down the chance to face Stevenson contained in the ring.
On account of different contenders routinely turning down the chance to battle Stevenson, battle followers gave him the boogeyman label. Lastly, Stevenson would have an opponent to compete in opposition to when Edwin De Los Santos stepped as much as the problem.
On November 16, 2023, Shakur Stevenson stepped contained in the squared circle to battle Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC world light-weight title. It was a uninteresting battle as Stevenson hesitated to have interaction, and De Los Santos had hassle slicing off the ring.
After the 12-round contest, Shakur Stevenson received the battle by way of unanimous resolution. Throughout his post-fight interview, a pissed off De Los Santos spoke on how he got here to battle, however Stevenson got here for a monitor meet.
The Stevenson-De Los Santos matchup acquired heavy criticism, and plenty of within the boxing neighborhood blamed Stevenson for the battle being boring. Stevenson admitted he had a foul efficiency, and his promoter, Bob Arum, revealed that Shakur fought with a shoulder harm.
Shakur Stevenson would have an opportunity to redeem himself on the evening of July sixth when he made his first title protection in opposition to Artem Harutyunyan. Within the opening spherical, Stevenson and Harutyunyan went via the feeling-out course of.
Within the second spherical, there wasn’t a lot motion contained in the ring as Harutyunyan pressed ahead and tried to be aggressive, however he couldn’t land something vital. The restricted motion continued within the third spherical because the followers began booing.
Shakur picked up the tempo as he had a string of rounds during which he routinely landed sharp single photographs and some two-punch combos. Throughout rounds 6 via 9, Stevenson had a window to go for the knockout, however as an alternative of being extra aggressive, he was happy with simply profitable the rounds.
Within the eleventh spherical, a few of Shakur’s hometown followers began booing whereas others left the world. Stevenson was conservative on offense within the twelfth as he received the spherical and went on to win the battle by means of unanimous resolution. Shakur received the victory, however he didn’t make that proverbial assertion.
Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) is a extremely expert ring technician with all of the instruments, however sadly, his lack of partaking and an absence of a killer intuition are why he’s being tagged as a boring fighter.
Shakur Stevenson’s fights are categorized as boring as a result of he’s ranges above his competitors, and it’s simple for him to make the most of the hit-but-don’t-get-hit technique. Shakur shall be concerned in entertaining fights sooner or later when he faces an opponent who’s on his stage.
When Shakur Stevenson faces an opponent with the identical ring IQ and ability stage, he could have no selection however to battle. It’s a assure that Shakur shall be in a extremely entertaining battle the evening he faces both Vasiliy Lomachenko or Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
