Fans Boo And Walk Out After Shakur Stevenson Beats Artem Harutyunyan
Fans criticized Shakur Stevenson despite his unanimous decision win over Artem Harutyunyan, which resulted in him retaining his WBC Lightweight Belt: 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112.
Stevenson had to put on a statement performance. Coming into the bout, he was on the final fight under his deal with Top Rank. Teddy Atlas and Chris Algeri felt he needed a big performance to increase his stock. Although he dominated the fight, the knockout never came.
Pre-Fight Comments
“I think a lot of people still in the group that would say that he could beat all of these guys, and he can. He definitely has that ability. The pound-for-pound guys are always the guys with the best defense. Defense is what separates champions.The elite guys don’t get hit. Shakur is one of the best defensive fighters in the game today, and he creates a lot of openings. The issue is he’s not the most exciting fighter at all, which is me being nice. A lot of guys think he’s very boring,” Algieri said
“He’s not only hard to beat but to look good against. That’s why a lot of guys don’t want to fight him. There’s no getting around it. He’s boring. It depends on what your taste is. If you want to see home runs, you stay at home. You’re not watching Stevenson,” Atlas said
The opening few rounds had very little action. Stevenson was feeling his opponent out by boxing on the outside. Meanwhile, Artem tried to close the distance to let his shots off. In the second, Artem connected with a three-punch combo only to get countered by Shakur’s right.
Shakur Takes Control
As the fight entered round four, Shakur took centre ring. He pierced Artem’s guard with his left hand. The Armenian made the adjustment of making Shakur box on his right side, so he could avoid the southpaw hand. The champion responded in the fifth, landing consecutive jabs to push Artem’s head back. Near the end of the bell, Shakur landed with an uppercut and left hook.
Fans Not Happy
Stevenson needed a stoppage as Artem was not going away. Shakur was confident of stopping him. In round eight, Artem was simply trying to survive. He was now boxing on the outside. Shakur tried to cut the ring off, landing numerous left hooks and an uppercut in the ninth. Artem did land his own shots in the pocket, but it was only because Shakur stood in the center looking for the KO. The stoppage did not happen, leaving Shakur with an easy decision win. There were jeers from the crowd, with some leaving before the final round. Although Shakur felt that was due to his opponent, the reaction from the fans suggests he needs to do better.
Full Card
Shakur Stevenson retains WBC lightweight title with unanimous decision win over Artem Harutyunyan (119-109, 118-110, 116-112).
O’Shaquie Foster wins WBC super featherweight title by unanimous decision over Robson Conceicao.
Keyshawn Davis defeats Miguel Madueno in lightweight bout by unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91).
Eridson Garcia wins super featherweight fight against William Foster III by unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 98-92).
Kelvin Davis beats Kevin Johnson in welterweight bout by majority decision (78-74, 78-74, 76-76).
Abdullah Mason defeats Luis Lebron in lightweight fight by TKO in the third round (1:18).
Ali Feliz wins heavyweight bout against Robinson Perez by unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
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