The last time we saw WBC 135-pound champion Shakur Stevenson in the ring was last November when he defeated Edwin De La Santos by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
That was not the most exciting fight, and even though Stevenson won, he was roundly criticized for not giving the fans an amazing show.
However, Stevenson has an opportunity to remove that bad taste from his fans’ mouths when he defends his title against top contender Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday evening at the Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs), a three-weight king and one of the sport’s pound-for-pound elites, hopes to turn away Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs), a 33-year-old who captured Olympic bronze for Germany at the 2016 Olympics. Stevenson-Harutyunyan tops a special four-fight telecast.
For the fourth time in his career, the 27-year-old Stevenson will headline a show in Newark, which he says is always special.
“This place is very special,” he said. “I appreciate my fans. I appreciate everybody that comes out to support in Newark. And we’re going to put on a show.”
The last time we saw Harutyunyan, he gave Frank Martin all he could handle, but Stevenson believes that fighting him is very different than fighting Martin.
“I’m going to take him to a level he’s never been on,” Stevenson said. “I’m just going to be myself. I’m going to come out and show my talent and show my levels. I think I’m one of the best in the sport of boxing at hit and don’t get hit. There’s a certain way of doing that, and I want to show the fans that all that moving around is something I don’t really have to do. I can sit in the pocket and beat you up, too.”
Stevenson should dominate, but the pressure is on him to look exciting while doing it, especially since he will become a free agent after this fight.
Prediction: Stevenson stoppage in Round 10.
In the co-feature, O’Shaquie Foster will defend his WBC junior lightweight world title against Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceição; lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis will take on Mexican puncher Miguel Madueño in a 10-round special feature.
In the eight-round televised opener, Cleveland-born lightweight phenom Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) steps up against Puerto Rican veteran Luis Lebron (20-5-1, 13 KOs).
Stevenson-Harutyunyan, Foster-Conceição, Davis-Madueño, and Mason-Lebron will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN, Deportes, and ESPN+ at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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