Stevenson Aims To Dominate Harutyunyan – ‘I’m That Guy’
Shakur Stevenson hopes to put on a dominant display when he faces Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday.
Shakur defends his WBC Lightweight Title, a belt he acquired after beating Edwin De Los Santos via a unanimous decision. However, the performance was criticized for being too defensive. Stevenson fought on the back foot, while De Los Santos failed to cut the ring off. Shakur was booed during the fight. While he revealed he had a hand injury coming into the fight, his commercial value dropped significantly.
He is now in the final fight of his contract with Top Rank. He has struggled to make the big fights even with boxers who are with Top Rank. Fights with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez could arguably have been made. Stevenson has said he will explore his free agency, making it vital to put on a clinical display. That is the aim heading into this fight.
Shakur Reacts
“I’m that guy, and I can’t wait for that day. So, I can’t focus on the people that try to downplay my last performance. It’s not going to be action-packed when it’s one-sided. When you’re putting hands on people and beating people up, that’s enough. I feel my last performance is a testament to how great I really am, even on a bad night. Even on a bad night, I could come out on top against a really good fighter,” Shakur said
Stevenson has several options. Eddie Hearn has expressed an interest in signing him, which could allow Shakur to get the Devin Haney fight. They were linked with the fight at 135. However, Haney has moved up since then. But that could be done given that Haney and Matchroom work closely together. The other alternative is to sign with PBC. This makes the Gervonta Davis fight much easier to make.
Shakur’s Options
PBC are known for keeping their fights in house. Tank has also said that he wants to box Shakur following the signing of his recent 6-7 PBC fight deal. Alternatively, Shakur could sign with Golden Boy Promotions. There is the opportunity to face William Zepeda. Zepeda is undefeated with a 30-0 record, which includes 26 KOs.
They were linked with a fight, only for Oscar De La Hoya to put his fighter’s attention elsewhere. A fight with Ryan Garcia could also happen here. Ryan is currently suspended for a year following failed VADA tests for Ostarine. The decision meant his win over Devin Haney was overturned. However, it would be a major milestone if Ryan could secure a victory against Shakur. Based on the current conversations, Eddie Hearn appears to be the favorite to sign Shakur.
“For me, the fight to make is Tank vs. Shakur Stevenson. I believe this is his [Shakur] last fight with Top Rank. There’s been a little bit of flirting on social media. I think Shakur Stevenson is pound-for-pound top five already; he may be the best fighter in the world, and I think he’s been promoted terribly. Nobody knows who he is, and a man of that stature, that resume, and that ability should be a huge star in America. We’ve got Bam Rodriguez and Jaron Ennis. If we can sign Shakur Stevenson to the roster as well, we’ve got a beautiful thing going in America,” Hearn stated
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