SHAKUR STEVENSON retained his WBC lightweight title at cruising speed against Artem Harutyunyan.
The 27-year-old was a deserving winner on all three scorecards (119-109, 118-110, 116-112) against the outclassed Armeinian-born German who never got on the level of his American opponent.
Stevenson, fighting at home inside Newark’s Prudential Centre, started the main event by spending a large portion of the first six minutes getting a gauge on his latest challenger. By the third round, murmurs of discontent from fans, who were perhaps still annoyed at having sat through a disappointing chief support bout, began to emerge. The home favourite then began deploying some sharp punches, which Harutyunyan could do little about.
The hand speed of Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) was a constant problem for Harutyunyan, (12-2, 7 KOs), who – little by little – began to get on his bike and move around the ring, hoping to spring into action and catch Stevenson by surprise.
While Stevenson is one of the most gifted fighters in the sport there can be no argument that he needs to do more in the ring to capture the public’s imagination. And by the beginning of the final round some fans could be seen leaving the Prudential Centre having seen enough.
The champion will argue that his challenger never came to fight and he needs a better dance partner to bring out his best. Someone like Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the obvious choice for a lightweight unification, but will the purse payers believe Stevenson is worth his asking price?
Prior to his post-fight interview Stevenson, soon to be a free agent according to reports, could be seen wearing a t-shirt which read “Bob is saving his son from this ass whooping.” A shot aimed at his Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and current IBF lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Stevenson then went on to give his verdict on the beaten Harutyunyan. “He’s trying to make sure he survives. He’s a good fighter, strong, I would’ve wanted him to try a little harder so that way it could be a more fun fight. I did everything I could to get him out of there, too.”
Asked if he was frustrated that he couldn’t get the job done inside the distance, Stevenson said, “Yes, I was. I gotta cut off the ring a little bit more. I’m gonna go back in the gym and work on cutting off the ring.”
Responding to boos from the crowd, Stevenson believed they were directed to Harutyunyan, who “wasn’t trying to make the fight”.
“I want to fight the best fighters in boxing,” the champion said. “That’s how you’re going to see the best version of me when you put me in there with somebody else that fights back and compete. That’s when you’re gonna get the best outta me.”
