Shakur Stevenson successfully defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant, one-sided unanimous decision win (119-109, 118-100, 116-112) over Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Regrettably, Stevenson’s performance fell short of the spectacular showing he needed to keep pace with his peers or to prove that he’s been under promoted throughout his career, leaving the audience with a sense of disappointment.
Throughout the rather uneventful fight, Stevenson’s technical skills, including his superior hand speed, punching accuracy, and defensive prowess, were a major difference, leaving the audience in awe of his mastery.
Stevenson landed multiple potshots throughout the fight but did most of his damage when he sat down on his punches to the body. Harutyunyan kept coming forward, attempting to remain dangerous, but he could not land enough punches to make Stevenson uncomfortable.
Despite Stevenson’s dominance, he failed to trouble Harutyunyan, and despite the pleas from his grandfather/trainer, Wali Moses, the 27-year-old couldn’t hit a high enough gear to stop his opponent.
As the fight drew on, the crowd became antsy, and many could be seen walking out of the Prudential Center in the 10th round and beyond.
Stevenson seemed to be pressing to make something exciting happen, but he was still trying to remain cautious, as usual in his fights.
This fight was the last one on Stevenson’s contract with Top Rank, and he wanted to make a statement. Unfortunately, he mostly affirmed the statements of his critics, who called him boring and tough to market.
After the fight, Stevenson implied that his performance and lack of excitement were more about Harutyunyan’s unwillingness to compete than his less-than-fan-friendly style.
Before and after the fight, Stevenson wore a t-shirt calling out his promoter, Bob Arum, for allegedly keeping Vasyl Lomachenko from fighting him.
After the fight, there was no shortage of reaction from boxing media members. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger called Stevenson’s performance “dominant,” but he also said it was “not a statement victory.”
Freelance boxing writer Dan Rafael called out the booing crowd and said the fight “was hard to watch.”
Boxing journalist Raging Babe called Stevenson out for the consistent bickering and backtalk with his grandfather in his corner.
I’d have to agree, as it was something I recognized during the fight as well. It doesn’t sound as if Stevenson respects Moses’ opinion, and their exchanges can’t be good for his overall career.
It’s not Moses’ fault necessarily, but if Stevenson turns the corner as a fighter, a change may be in order.
