WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson is undefeated, however he wants to provide a dominant efficiency when he faces Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday night time, July sixth, on the Prudential Heart in Newark, New Jersey, reside on ESPN.
Stevenson is a extremely expert ring technician, however typically his bouts lack the motion that struggle followers wish to see. The final time Stevenson was within the ring, he didn’t lose the struggle, however he did lose some credibility.
Shakur Stevenson made his light-weight debut again in April 2023 when he confronted undefeated Japanese boxer Shuichiro Yoshino. With 1:17 remaining within the second spherical, Stevenson landed a pointy left-hand shot that despatched Yoshino all the way down to the canvas.
Stevenson would go on to attain a second knockdown within the fourth spherical when he related with a three-punch mixture. Shakur continued to land flush pictures for the following spherical and a half till the referee stepped in and put a halt to the competition.
With Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, George Kambosos Jr, and Frank Martin all passing on the chance to face Shakur Stevenson, it gave the looks that Stevenson was the boogeyman at 135.
Lastly, the hard-hitting Edwin De Los Santos stepped as much as the problem.
The Stevenson-De Los Santos bout happened in November 2023. Within the opening spherical of the battle for the vacant WBC light-weight world title, Shakur Stevenson began the struggle by touchdown a pointy jab. Sadly, for the following eleven rounds, the jab was principally the one punch Stevenson showcased.
Stevenson was hesitant to have interaction, whereas De Los Santos was unable to shut the gap. The annoyed crowd constantly booed over the last eight rounds of the struggle. Neither fighter landed double-digit punches in any of the 12 rounds.
Stevenson is a grasp at controlling distance, however throughout his struggle with De Los Santos some considered his actions as distance management, and others considered it as operating. On the conclusion of the competition, Shakur Stevenson earned a unanimous resolution victory by the scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112.
The followers continued to boo whereas Stevenson carried out his post-fight interview inside the ring. Stevenson understood the crowds’ frustration as he went on to confess that his efficiency was subpar.
“I had a nasty efficiency tonight,” Stevenson mentioned. “That’s all I’m actually targeted on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll must reside with it. It’s okay. I got here in and obtained the victory, and that’s all I needed to do.”
A annoyed Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) additionally participated in a post-fight interview. The Dominican boxer verbalized his frustration regarding the struggle and the outcomes.
“I got here right here to struggle, and he got here for a observe meet. I wouldn’t say I’m on his stage, however I’d say I’m above his stage as a result of I got here to struggle tonight. I got here to placed on a struggle, however Shakur Stevenson determined to not struggle. He was gifted a title,” De Los Santos said.
After his lukewarm efficiency, Stevenson obtained a considerable quantity of criticism from the boxing neighborhood. High Rank promoter Bob Arum would later reveal that Stevenson fought with a shoulder damage that he suffered throughout coaching camp.
Now, the newly topped WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is about to make his first title protection. His opponent Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) is coming off of an in depth loss to Frank Martin.
Resulting from his final struggle, Shakur Stevenson’s fame took a success. In an effort to vindicate himself, Stevenson has to dominate Harutyunyan on Saturday night time, July sixth, in entrance of his hometown crowd.
A formidable win towards Harutyunyan is nice, however it is probably not sufficient to restore the harm prompted from the De Los Santos struggle. The trail Shakur might take to earn the standing of the very best at 135 is to dominate Harutyunyan, rematch De Los Santos, then problem WBA world light-weight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
