Shakur Stevenson had yet another performance that a large portion of the boxing public found grotesquely boring, a troubling trend that could hurt the exceptionally talented boxer in the long run. The 27-year-old Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs), who has won world titles in two weight classes, retained his WBC lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan Saturday at Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, in the final fight of his promotional deal with Top Rank. Keith Idec reported 8,412 in attendance but by the eighth round, fans started to make their way to the exits, disgusted by the lack of action.
The official attendance tonight at Prudential Center is 8.412. A smaller crowd than Shakur Stevenson's last two appearances in his hometown of Newark, but a respectable figure for a holiday weekend & a low-profile opponent.
— Keith Idec (@Idecboxing) July 7, 2024 Boos filled the arena during the final two rounds in what was mostly a monotonous affair. Stevenson claimed the jeers were aimed at Harutyunyan because he failed to press the fight. According to CompuBox, Stevenson landed 170 of 446 punches (38%), while Harutyunyan connected with just 74 of 423 punches (18%).
In Defense of Stevenson This writer was particularly harsh on Stevenson for his performance against Edwin De Los Santos in November when he outpointed the hard-hitting Dominican fighter in Las Vegas. De Los Santos’ 40 connected blows over their 12-round fight were the low.
