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Shakur Stevenson beats Artem Harutyunyan: Round-by-round analysis, highlights
By Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY,
8 hours ago
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JULY 06: Shakur Stevenson (gold gloves) trades punches with Artem Harutyunyan of Germany (red gloves) during their WBC Lightweight World Title fight at Prudential Center on July 06, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) Sarah Stier, Getty Images
World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson headed home for the fourth time in his professional career. Unlike his last bout in Newark, New Jersey, the crowd at Prudential Center did not enjoy a knockout victory for their local champion.
But he methodically worked his way though 12 full rounds against challenger Artem Harutyunyan to win his first WBC title defense via unanimous decision.
Stevenson (22-0-0, 10 KOs) entered Saturday night looking to continue his win streak in the lightweight class. Harutyunyan (12-2-0, 7 KOs) came out of the gate with more energy, darting around erratically to throw off Stevenson's game plan. His plan worked on defense but he struggled to land punches on Stevenson, who displayed a masterclass in avoiding punches.
As the bout wore on, Stevenson found his rhythm and wore Harutyunyan down. By the end of Round 6, ESPN statistics showed Stevenson landed 74 of 163 punches (45%). That was miles better than Harutyunyan's 31 of 195 (16%). Stevenson won the fight with judges scoring the bout 119-109, 118-110, 116-112 in his favor.
That wasn't a sure thing, though. The co-main event between WBC world super featherweight champion O'Shaquie Foster and Robson Conceicao saw a huge surprise from fans and anouncers. Foster was in control throughout the match but Conceicao won by split decision (116-112, 112-116, 115-113).
Despite Harutyunyan's aggression in the later rounds, there would be no surprise result. Stevenson ended Saturday's bout as he entered it: WBC world lightweight champion.
Round 1: Harutyunyan stayed active early on, moving a lot more than Stevenson to start the bout. Stevenson caught him with a counterpunch multiple times while staying just out of range. His defense was fully on display in the first frame.
Round 2: Harutyunyan's less-predictable movements forced Stevenson to take extra time to decide how to attack. Stevenson avoided most of Harutyunyan's punches and only peppered him with a few hits.
Round 3: Harutyunyan continues to be the more engaged fighter. He landed a couple of big hits in the middle of the round. Stevenson finally connected on a big hit in the final minute before Harutyunyan had him on the ropes to close the round.
Round 4: Stevenson hit Harutyunyan with a big combination midway through the round after a slow first 90 seconds. Harutyunyan tested him with an uppercut but Stevenson managed to dodge it. Stevenson closed the round with one landed hit among multiple misses.
Round 5: Harutyunyan landed a few punches early and kept the aggression up into the second minute of the round. Stevenson powered back, though, with multiple big hits, including one to Harutyunyan's head. Stevenson ended the round in emphatic fashion with a couple of powerful shots to Harutyunyan's body in the final minute.
Round 6: Stevenson found his rhythm with a mix of aggressive shots, dodges and defense. Harutyunyan fired multiple powerful shots but only connected with Stevenson's shoulders. After moving a lot in the opening rounds, Harutyunyan looked slower in the final minute of the round. ESPN statistics state Stevenson landed 74 of 163 punches (45%) to 31 of 195 for Harutyunyan (16%).
Round 7: Harutyunyan came out with more energy after a sluggish finish to Round 6. Stevenson responded with multiple shots, including a powerful left hand hit. He's still managing to avoid contact from much of Harutyunyan's punches. Stevenson landed multiple sweeping left hands to Harutyunyan's face in the final minute of the round.
Round 8 : Harutyunyan came out with more energy again to stay in front of Stevenson. Both boxers moved around the ring more than usual in this round before Stevenson landed some strong hits to Harutyunyan's body.
Round 9: Stevenson started more on the defensive in this round. He powered in multiple big punches in the second minute to Harutyunyan's body, specifically with his left hand. Harutyunyan went defensive in the final minute of the round before fighting back and landing a big hit to Stevenson's face.
Round 10: Harutyunyan continued his aggression from the closing minute of Round 9. Stevenson responded with body shots in the second minute. Harutyunyan fought back with jabs to Stevenson's body in one of the closer rounds of the bout.
Round 11: Harutyunyan came out swinging in the opening minute. Stevenson went on the defensive, much to the disappointment of fans in his hometown Newark who booed him in the second minute. Harutyunyan continues to go aggressive. After the result from the co-main event, anything is possible.
Round 12: The defensive clinic continues for Stevenson who's forced Harutyunyan to land just 17% of his punches. Some of Stevenson's best punches came in a combination in the middle of this round. Both boxers went to heavy swings to close the round but managed to avoid each other's big hits.
Despite a massive deficit in landed hits and body shots, the judges have awarded the WBC super featherweight title to Robson Conceicao via split decision (116-112, 112-116, 115-113) in what was a shock to announcers and fans in Newark alike.
Foster is fully in control in his defense of the WBC super featherweight title. Conceicao may have scored better in one of the first eight rounds of the bout.
Foster kept control in Rounds 9 and 10 by landing multiple big hits in key moments. Barring a surprise knockout, Foster looks set to keep his title belt. Foster continued to avoid Conceicao's punches in Round 11 and 12. In total, ESPN data showed Foster landed 105 hits to Conceicao's 79 over the course of the bout.
Alex Ballentine writes: "[Harutyunyan] was aggressive to a fault against Frank Martin. He brought the fight to the American but also left himself vulnerable to counters. Martin was able to pick him off with regularity and his counterpunching carried his performance. Stevenson is an even better counterpuncher than Martin. His defense, quickness and mobility should carry the day and the added incentive to prove his worth before hitting free agency should be enough to accelerate the whole process."
Tom Gray says: "Harutyunyan is guilty of going a bit wide with his punches, and against a sharp-shooting southpaw like Stevenson that could spell doom. The American’s feet are incredible and he just operates on a completely different dimension in terms of speed and reflexes. While this promises to be a long night for Harutyunyan, I do see him reaching the finish line before dropping a lopsided points decision."
Josh Katzowitz writes: "Stevenson is going to make this look like an easy fight. It doesn’t seem likely that Stevenson is going to showcase his knockout power more now that he’s moved up in weight to 135 pounds, but his boxing skills are outstanding. He’ll win a decision, somewhere in the 118-110 range."
Tickets were still available for tonight's bout on multiple third-party sites. Ticketmaster 's options start at $66 before fees as of Saturday evening.
Tonight's card is full with eight bouts, including two WBC title fights: Stevenson vs. Harutyunyan in the lightweight category and O'Shaquie Foster vs. Robson Conceicao for the super featherweight title.
The event starts at 8:30 p.m. ET but with that many fights ahead of their bout, Stevenson vs. Harutyunyan will likely start at approximately 11:15 p.m. ET.
ESPN is carrying tonight's WBC title fight stream and offers two subscription levels in the U.S. The monthly subscription is $10.99 per month and the annual subscription is $109.99.
The defending champion Stevenson will have a guaranteed purse of at least $1.5 million for tonight's bout. He will also earn a larger share of the pay-per-view revenue. Harutyunyan is a bit lower at $400,000 guaranteed for the bout and a smaller pay-per-view share.
Stevenson does not yet have another fight scheduled after his bout with Harutyunyan tonight. He's one of the top lightweight boxers in the world and could be up for another world title belt soon.
Harutyunyan doesn't have another fight confirmed after tonight's bout. He'll likely be in the ring again in the next year for another lightweight fight.
Stevenson is undefeated since his debut on April 22, 2017 and enters tonight's bout at 21-0-0 with 10 KOs. Three of his last four fights have gone the full 12 rounds - the exception being a TKO win over Shuichiro Yoshino on April 8, 2023.
Harutyunyan made his debut on Nov. 25, 2017 and is 12-1-0 with 7 KOs heading into tonight's fight. He lost his first professional bout in his most recent fight: a unanimous decision loss to Frank Martin on July 15, 2023.
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