Shakur Stevenson - Artem Haruntunyan summary online, round by round, stats and highlights
Stevenson outpoints Harutyunyan to retian WBC lightweight title
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Stevenson too defensive to turn on fans in title defense
Well after all the hyperbole, this was meant to be a fight that would showcase the full potential that Shakur Stevenson possesses. Upset with what he saw as the lack of promotion by Top Rank, Stevenson made big of the fact that he would go home to New Jersey and show boxing fans that he was worthy of the big fights.
In the end it was nothing of the sort.
Artem Harutyunyan was overmatched from the beginning. His style consisted of straightforward aggression, and while he was not by any stretch of the imagination out of place in the ring, he was tailor made as the type of opponent that Stevenson should have put away in easy fashion.
Despite what two of the scorecards said, Stevenson did not have an easy night of it. Slow and sluggish as the fight got underway Stevenson lost the first four rounds, and arguably lost the ninth as well. It was a very close fight, and that was almost criminal.
Those first rounds that Stevenson lost, we're lost entirely because Stevenson was just too defensive. He was slow and sluggish, unwilling to let his hands go, and allowed himself to be picked off. Once he woke up and actually got into the fight, Stevenson dominated his opponent. Once he woke up.
Now Stevenson is looking for big money fights against Lomachenko or Tank. If he starts as slow as he did tonight against either of those opponents, he'll never see the fourth round.
As if in confirmation of all these problems, the crowd in Newark began filing out of the arena after the eleventh round. It's a true puzzle for boxing fans. Shakur Stevenson is supremely talented. His defense is outstanding. And he is unbelievably boring to watch.
Boxing, first and foremost, is a spectacle. Give the people what they want to see. And while everyone can agree that's Stevenson is a world champion level fighter, he is not, unfortunately, what the people want to see.
I think 119-109 was a little too wide for the fight that actually took place. Stevenson had a very slow start and lost the first four rounds. And while I could see you giving him one or maybe, just maybe, two of those rounds, it's hard for me to see anyone giving him three of the first four.
But again this goes to show exactly what's been going on all night. Ringside judges see things their own way, it's very subjective, and with Stevenson being in his hometown it is difficult for a judge not to be swayed by that.
In any case, no matter the score, justice was done because the right fighter won.
AND STILL: Shakur Stevenson wins by UD
The judges at ringside saw it:
119-109
118-110
116-112
All for the winner by unanimous decision and still the WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
Well this is a conundrum. Again I have Stevenson up on my card. I scored it 116-112. But if we've seen anything tonight that we can hold on to it is that the judges at ringside may or may not see what I saw. Many in the crowd have already left and the arena is half empty. Does that mean that they believe Stevenson won easily? What does that mean the opposite?
Let's go to the judges at ringside and see what they say.
One criticism that has dogged Shakur Stevenson throughout his career has been the fact that his style of fighting is boring. And even here in his own hometown, many in the crowd are now filing out, going home having felt that they've seen enough. I wouldn't be so sure. This has been a fairly tight fight and even though on my card Stephenson is up, the judges tonight have shown to be capable of surprises.
Stevenson is now staying more on the front foot, more willing to trade. The two come out near the center of the ring and start throwing their hands, each landing and each missing.
Artem comes out throwing his right hand more freely than he has the entire fight. He has taken some serious punishment from that left hand of Stevenson, and his bloodshot right eye is now swelling.
Stevenson ups the gears, throwing his lead hand more often, jabbing it out but also bringing it in as a low hook under the elbow. He continues to bang away with his hard left hand. Artem comes in throwing punches trying to gain the upper hand, but Stevenson stops him each time with an accurate power shot.
The German comes out this round moving better, throwing nice shots but now moving around to his right and on to that left hand of Stevenson. Around the guard with the hook and then the power hand to the face, the German lands a three punch combo and then a one-two. He is doing far better work this round than he did the last few.
Stevenson slows his assault with a nice hard left hand and goes back to trying to March him down.
Stevenson comes out staying on the attack, moving forward, ducking out of the way of that right hand that's coming back at him. Artem now looks frustrated, unable to devise a plan that will hurt Stevenson once and for all.
The hand speed that at the beginning of the fight seemed so far from Stevenson has now suddenly appeared and he taps upstairs and down with double left hooks. Stevenson lands another left uppercut this time and then switches to his right, again going upstairs and down, to the head and down below the elbow and into the ribs.
Artem is still flying back but his shots seemed telegraphed and Stevenson is having no trouble with him.
The crowd is up, willing Stevenson to try and turn this defensive fight around, urging him to go on the offensive, to try and stop this German pretender. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. Stevenson is not a front foot fighter. He is more comfortable, and indeed more effective, boxing off the back foot.
But something perhaps in the crowds cheering, or maybe it's the fact that he is in his hometown, has urged him on. Stevenson is now the aggressor, on the front foot, marching down Artem.
The German is not nearly as skilful as Stevenson encounter punching, and Stevenson is able to do good work here, landing jabs and power shots. Too low hooks from Stevenson land under the elbows of Artem on the bell.
Artem comes out tapping away, tip tapping with short jabs, still perhaps uncomfortable with letting his hands fly. Stevenson is patient, perhaps too patient. He avoids the shots coming towards him leaning back, rolling the shoulder, and answering with a nice left.
Artem lands a hook to the ribs and follows it with the right hand straight down the pipe. Stevenson comes back with two slapping left hands across the nose of the German.
That was a wonderful round Stevenson, but looking at him on the stool inter-round, he seemed far too relaxed. Artem is staying hard on him and coming after him, and while Stevenson should be able to deal with them quite easily, he shouldn't be so relaxed given what we've already seen happen with the ringside judges tonight.
The German still probes but now Stevenson is on the front foot landing a lovely right hook and following that with a straight left hand. They trade power punches. Stevenson lands a one-two, and then follows it up with another. Artem stays on the front foot now, marching forward, but instead of going backwards Stevenson is now turning him twisting him around the middle of the ring and coming back with beautiful counter punches. As the round ends the German gets the last word with a four punch combo.
Finally Stevenson is coming out with a little bit more pop his jab. He is snapping it out cleanly and bringing his back hand into play. Stevenson is a fighter who is very comfortable on the back foot, and that can be a problem, as we saw previously, when judges seem to value aggression more than cleanliness.
Artem has been on the front foot this fight, right from the beginning, but finally Stevenson is beginning to cease the backward steps and move forward a bit. He snapped the jab again landing cleanly, popping Artem’s head back. Staying just out of range Stevenson lands an uppercut and peach of a left hook just on the bell.
Stevenson looks to be almost asleep, lethargic, barely willing to go to work. Artem is moving nicely now, getting in and out picking up points, and more importantly working to the outside of that lead foot of the champ.
The German is forcing Stevenson to turn to his right, not the direction that he wants to turn, and away from that power hand that the big southpaw has.
Stevenson has now staked out the middle of the ring and Artem is moving around the outside, bouncing on his toes, circling.
The shots coming from Stevenson or a little bit plodding, a little slow. He has much faster hand speed than he is showing us here.
This is a very slow start even by Stevenson’s standards. He is taking his time and looking for the opening, but it is a dangerous game as the rounds tick by to leave everything in the hands of the ringside judges.
More pawing and prowling, probing little jabs, stick and move, and again it is Artem who is doing the better work here. The German comes in heavy with two straight rights, both landing, not cleanly, but landing nonetheless.
Stevenson daps the jab and then pokes with his back hand towards the midsection of Artem. It's very little, and seems to lack conviction.
Again both fighters come out tapping looking for an entryway in, and Stevenson is for the most part staying out of trouble. He is fast and twitchy, able to back away from Artem’s shots.
As Artem comes in low, Stevenson lands a nice left counter. The German has staked out the middle of the ring, forcing Stevenson to work around the outside.
A nice three punch combination sees Artem score with Stevenson on the ropes. Another big shot from Artem is avoided encountered with the right hand from Stevenson.
If it gets going as Stevenson comes out the southpaw working against Artem who is an orthodox fighter. Both men are pawing out their jab trying to find range careful to keep their feet out of each other's way, which is the big danger when you square off an orthodox and a southpaw fighter.
Artem is stepping inside over that front foot every time he throws a jab, and that's something he's going to want to look out for. He should be looking to step around the back and cut off that angle of escape for Stevenson.
Shakur Stevenson* vs. Artem Harutyunyan [WBC lightweight title] 12 rounds
Now we are at the main event as Shakur Stevenson defends his WBC lightweight title against Shakur Artem Harutyunyan.
Foster emotional
He felt that he won every round, and I can see why. I gave Conceição the benefit of the doubt on four rounds, but I can see how Foster got to that decision.
That's a very contentious decision I can see how they found it, but it just goes to show that judging is all in the eye of the beholder. Conceição was very aggressive, but landed an incredibly low percentage of shots. Whereas Foster was more precise, using his defense and superior speed to great effect. Clearly today, the judges at ringside preferred aggression over pugilism.
AND THE NEW: Robson Conceicao wins by SD
The three judges at ringside saw it:
116-112 Conceição
116-112 Foster
115-113 Conceição
And we have a new champion by split decision!
I'm not really sure how to score that fight. It's so subjective, and it depends on if you like the aggression and are willing to overlook the fact that a high percentage of Conceição’s shots did not land, or if you more appreciate the skill of Foster's defense, forcing his opponent to miss and then landing clean crisp counter punches.
The only opinion that matters is that of the three ringside judges. Let's see what they have to say.
The 12th and final round gets under way and to be honest your guess is as good as mine as to who is winning this fight. My instinct says it's Foster, since he is landing the cleaner shots, but all of the aggression has been on Conceição’s side and before that cut on his eye it was really paying off for him. It was pretty much level coming into the 10th round, but that cut changed everything. The whole tone of the fight shifted.
Right now, the Brazilian is heavily on the attack, perhaps sensing that he has been on the back foot for two rounds. He pushes the champ onto the ropes, gets his head down and starts unloading with both hands.
Foster is not throwing much back, but the shots that he does throw are landing. Conceição, on the other hand, is throwing tons of shots, and although most are missing a few are actually finding their mark.
As the Clapper goes both men are moving around trying to find range. With the bell Conceição throws his hands in the air.
The Brazilians corner gets busy working on that cut they've slowed the bleeding, but it is wide open. They fill it with Vaseline and send their man back in there. It's a little surprising that the referee doesn't have the doctor take a look at it. Perhaps he doesn't think that it is serious, but from where I'm sat it looks to be a pretty deep gash and will almost certainly need stitches.
Conceição goes in double tapping that jab and loading up the right hand, but he just doesn't release it. He doesn't pull the trigger. That is a perfect example of how he has become a little more cautious in the last two rounds, perhaps because his vision is impaired.
Foster is playing it safe, staying out of range, moving nimbly on his toes, and forcing the Brazilian to be the aggressor. As Conceição slows down through the course of the round, Foster moves in close and unloads lightning fast combinations, scoring quick points and then moving out of the way.
They're working on Conceição’s eye in his corner, and they seem to think that it was a headbutt. I saw it as a double left hook, but in any event the cut on his eye is huge and gaping open.
Round 10 gets underway this is a whole new ball game. Conceição is in real trouble if he can't keep that eye away from Foster’s left hand.
The champ is backpedaling, staying mobile and picking off his shots when he gets the opportunity for a counter.
Conceição is banging away throwing left and right but without the conviction that he had a few rounds ago. That cut has taken any sting away from his punches as he is perhaps slightly reluctant to go in with a full head of steam. The blood is really flowing into his eye and I would be surprised if he isn't blind in that eye at the moment.
Foster comes out and lands a double tap left hook that opens a cut on Conceição’s eye. The Brazilian pauses and reaches for his face. You could see he really felt that. This could be a game changer, with the blood now starting to flood down the Brazilian’s face.
The aggression is still there by Conceição, who's still looking for that big overhand right. But that eye is starting to swell and could shut quite quickly here. Foster is staying out of trouble staying away, and that's a smart move. Some of the blood and sweat has fallen to the matt, and it looks as if it's become slick, as Conceição slips and slides in the middle of the ring.
Conceição comes marching forward and this time foster catches him with two counters, a left and a right. Conceição stays on the attack and eats another counter right hook from Foster.
They stand and trade in the middle of the ring both men catch in the other cleanly. foster backs away and the Brazilian comes forward sliding into range. As he throws that right hand, the champ rolls his shoulder and gets out of trouble.
The two fighters come out and meet in the middle of the ring trading punches, each landing a heavy right hook before backing away and working behind their jabs.
Conceição is still trying to rely on that big heavy overhand right, but Foster is doing a great job with the shoulder roll of staying out of danger.
Periodically, the Brazilian’s overhand right does land true, as it does just now, but it's still not enough to slow the champ down.
Foster backs away out of range, forcing the Brazilian to come forward and meet the counterpunch.
Conceição comes out throwing that overhand right, what is quickly caught by Foster and wobbled. He recovers instantly and comes back with another overhand right, but it certainly looks as if the champ has timed him and figured out how to avoid it.
Foster sticks a double drab on to the Brazilian and then follows it up with another double tap right hand, before catching a counterpunch in response.
Conceição moves forward shoving his way into range opening up with six shots to the midsection and pushing the champ onto the ropes.
Conceição comes out banging, mostly one twos, with a low left in a big overhand right. He lands it three times without response. Foster pushes back, snapping his jab out pushing the challenger away from him. The champ continues to work off the back foot and as the Brazilian comes in Foster lands and eye-catching uppercut snaps his opponents head back.
Conceição stays with his plan of attacking with that one too, his overhand right landing almost at will. Foster catches him with another counterpunch but the Brazilian stays on the offensive.
So far neither boxer or has managed to damage the other they're both sticking to their game plan, picking off points and staying out of danger. While foster is the more mobile of the two, Conceição is keeping a very wide stance and staying low, able to get out of trouble in most cases.
The Brazilian manages to land a nice 1-2 combination and work foster back onto the ropes, But the champ manages to tie him up and end the assault.
Both men come out letting their hands fly more freely as they are finding their range and landing. Foster wrestles and shoves Conceição to the floor, but it is ruled a push and no knockdown.
A big windmilling left from the Brazilian misses its mark and he ducks under a huge left hook from Foster.
Both men come out and meet in the middle of the ring, again with Conceiçao trying to claim the center ground. Foster is happy dancing around the outside tapping away. He looks lighter, more lithe than his opponent. Conceiçao is very fast unable to slip away from shots coming in, but Foster is very clever, using feints and fakes to set up his shots.
Conceiçao lands a left hook right on the bell.
This is perhaps the most a weighted of the undercard fights, as Foster takes on Conceiçao. This is the third defense for Foster, and he definitely will have his work cut out for him tonight.
They come out both men working from the orthodox side, a little bit more paced than the previous fight, as both have a lot of respect for the other's power.
Foster paws out a jab and tries to stay light on his toes. Conceiçao responds with a leaping jab, which turns into a double, the second landing cleanly.
Foster has to work around the outside as Conceiçao takes the center of the ring. The jabs are starting to open up and flow a little bit more freely from both men.
O’Shaquie Foster* vs. Robson Conceicao [WBC junior lightweight title] 12 rounds
Now we come to a world title fight as O’Shaquie Foster defends his WBC junior lightweight title against Robson Conceicao.
Keyshawn Davis wins by UD
The judges at ringside scored it:
99-91 across the board all for Keyshawn Davis, who now moves to 11-0.
For me that's an easy Davis win I've got him up by 4 rounds.
Madueno fought bravely, but it was always going to have to be an ugly bout for him to have a chance. He dragged Davis down to his level and turned it into an ugly scrap, but eventually Davis figured him out and put distance between them.
But the only opinion that matters is the ringside judges, let's go see what they have to say.
The 10th and final round and the fighters come out, Davis is sharp back to the way he started the fight. Quick hands and lightning fast shots snap the Mexican’s head back. Madueño knows that he needs a knockout to win here and he is still going for it, pushing forward and throw in that chopping heavy right. He is willing to eat any shot coming back to try to get into range and land his hand. And he is eating a ton of them!
Davis is sharp, an assassin, sniping and landing shots almost at will. Madueño is plodding, pushing forward, cutting distance, but heavily overmatched.
Both fighters showboat right at the end and as the bell sounds they embrace. That's a good sign after all of the aggro in this fight.
A little bit of aggro at the end of the last round was quickly broken up by both corners. I've got Davis easily up on my card, winning by three rounds, but he has really had to work for it. The Mexican has not given him an easy time at all.
Again Davis is on the back foot throwing counters as Madueño marches forward. Now Davis goes on the offensive, lands an uppercut and the left hook before coming back with a right straight to the chin.
Now it is the turn of the Mexican to look a little bit out of gas. Davis lands two quick left hooks on the ear and Madueño comes forward trying to grab on. He gets tripped by Davis and wrestled to the floor.
A hard left a straight right and a beautiful left hook all land clean on the chin of Madueño just as the round ends! Davis throws his hands in the air trying to hype the crowd.
Davis is trying to stick to his original game plan, working off the back foot, staying mobile and landing counterpunches. Madueño is coming forward, eating a ton of shots, but never slowing down.
At the moment it looks as if Davis came to box, while Madueño came to fight. Madueño is steady throwing his hands, the left hook, the left jab, a straight right, and that big overhand chop. But so far ,he's just not landing it cleanly. Davis is still too quick. And with Davis landing nearly all of his counters this fight is really heading his way.
This fight has now gotten very, very ugly. As the seventh round starts, they grapple again and Davis throws Madueño to the floor!
Another warning from the referee and they finally settled back into boxing. Davis is grabbing on holding on as Madueño bangs away.
This round is really showing the difficulty with this fight. Davis is landing more punches. Davis is the more skillful. But Madueño is almost bullying his way into the fight! The Mexican is relentless in his aggression. And do you know what? It looks like it might be working. While Davis is scoring more points, he is also looking completely shattered. Another round or two of this could see the Mexican pull off the unbelievable.
This is one thing about Mexican boxers that you have to say: they're like matadors. When you compare them to their compatriots, they may not be graceful, they may not be beautiful, but my God are they brave!
Madueño comes forward marching on to each shot that Davis can give him. And Davis is showing signs of having punched himself out. Madueño has taken tons of punishment, but now rather than firing back, Davis is simply holding on, waiting for the break, and then grabbing again.
Madueño gets Davis backed onto the ropes and starts to look for that big right hand yet again. He taps, throws a jab, tries that chopping right hand, misses and starts again.
After the bell there is a bunch of antics going on! The two fighters are jawing at each other pushing and shoving! Madueña throws a punch at Davis! Ohh he needs to be careful here! He could be disqualified!
Their two corners get them separated and the referee comes to speak to both of them.
For all the showboating at the weigh in by Davis, this is turning into a pick em fight. Madueño’s style is plodding and based on attrition and pure aggression, while Davis is showing far more skill defensively and with a stinging counter punch ability. But both fighters are doing great things in their own way.
Madueño comes forward shoving his way onto Davis, eating up jab after jab, and then when he cuts that distance down pushing his lead hand on to Davis and then chopping down with his right hand. It is ugly, but infuriatingly effective.
Davis is trying to stick to his game plan, rolling, moving, stepping backwards encountering the Mexican. Much more traditionally beautiful, but he has taken a lot of punishment on the way.
Davis is slower getting off his stool, while Madueño runs out to the middle of the ring. Right now the wind is entirely behind the Mexican and he is pounding away. Now Davis gets his second win and starts throwing and lands a hard right! He catches the Mexican with a left hook and then starts to really open up! Madueño is rocked backwards. Another left snaps his head back! Davis has taken control of this round!
At the halfway mark the Mexican seems to get his bearings, and comes back blasting. Davis is rapt in attention, eyes wide open and reacting swiftly to these shots coming at him.
They stand and trade and at the 30 second mark they're both having some success. Davis gets the last word and that was a good round for him.
They're straight out to the middle of the ring and Davis wastes no time grabbing on, holding and turning Madueño. I guess he feels like if this has to be an ugly fight, then get ugly quick.
The Mexican is all aggression, just marching forward absolutely no tact or style about him. He is punching and trying to get close enough to punch down on to Davis. Trying to find a way out of this ugly battle Davis steps back and catches him with a beautiful counter right! But if anything, all that does is enrage the Mexican, and he comes forward throwing his hands more freely!
Madueño shoves Davis back onto the ropes and unloads a left or right another left to the body and a hard right. Davis is in trouble here!
Finally Davis gets off the ropes and they go back to the middle of the ring. Now with a bit of space to work in, he goes back to his original tag of moving backwards as Madueño stalks him. Another great round for the Mexican!
There were a few words at the end of that first round, with Davis having absolutely zero respect for his opponent. And so far, Madueño has not done anything to earn that respect. But that changes in the opening seconds of the second round as Madueño lands a hard right that snaps Davis' head around, forcing him to cover up for the first time.
Madueño lands another hard right and follows it this time with a nice left that sends Davis hurtling backwards. Davis switches tack and grabs on. Rather than being slick and slippery as he was in the first round he is now being forced into a war of attrition. The two men grapple, and Davis pushes his mitt into the face of the Mexican, roughhousing him back onto the ropes.
That second round was much better from Madueño. He had to make the fight ugly in order to drag Davis down to his level and he had quite a lot of success.
In one of the most awaited bouts of the night, Keyshawn Davis takes on Miguel Madueño. They both come out work in orthodox with the Mexican keeping his guard high and throwing hands, while Davis is playing slippery and loose, slipping under the shots and coming back with counter lefts.
Madueño is coming forward with the peekaboo style, framing his face with his gloves. Davis drops under and hits him with a jab to the midsection, and when his hands come down catch him with a very hard right cross.
The Mexican is chasing Davis all over the ring, but he is just simply too slick.
Keyshawn Davis vs. Miguel Madueno [lightweight] 10 rounds
Now we have another 10 round lightweight contest as Keyshawn Davis takes on Miguel Madueno.
Abdullah Mason wins by TKO
LeBron is a man shaking to his very boots. It would be very surprising to me if he even comes off of his stool for this round, but it looks as if he's going to do exactly that.
LeBron comes forward but he's not working the jab, he’s simply plodding, hands high, stepping straight onto that counter left hand of Mason.
On the other side Mason is sharp, quick, with a stinging jab. He goes in with the uppercut to the midsection and LeBron covers. Another shot and another, and that is enough for LeBron’s corner who throw in the towel! That is it! They've seen enough and pulled their man out of the fight!
Mason is back out immediately exhibiting those fast hands yet again, drawing LeBron on and striking like a snake. He taps a hard one two, leans back and throws in a hard left. LeBron keeps his hands high, marching forward but he is all out of ideas. Blood is now streaming from the nose of LeBron. His plotting style no match for the lightning quick counters of Mason.
A stiff left uppercut shatters that nose and LeBron goes down! He gets the 8 count and is all out of sorts! Mason comes in throwing hands left and right both sides and LeBron goes down again! Another eight count but LeBron is staring at his corner! He wants none of this! The bell comes and saves him, but my oh my, this fight is just about done!
The two fighters come out Mason working from the southpaw side as LeBron takes a wide stance from orthodox. LeBron takes the center of the ring and goes in low with a hard jab followed by a right hook, trying to get on top of Mason. Mason is slick, working the shoulder roll and seems happy to fight off the back foot. As LeBron comes into range, Mason shows off some extremely fast hands, poking with that left and getting out of trouble. He is quick on his feet as he turns LeBron. Switching tack to take the middle of the ring, Mason strikes a nice one two as the round ends.
Abdullah Mason vs. Luis Lebron [lightweight] 10 rounds
Now the first bout of the main card as Abdullah Mason takes on Luis Lebron in a 10 round lightweight contest
Move to the main card
The preliminary bouts are now done and we move to the main card!
Kelvin Davis vs. Kevin Johnson [welterweight] 8 rounds
The second fight of the evening is a heater!
Preliminary results
Ali Feliz vs. Robinson Perez [heavyweight] 4 rounds
In the first bout of the night, Ali Feliz defeated Robinson Perez by unanimous decision 40-36 across the board to move to 3-0. Feliz won gold at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in December, and has signed a multi-year deal with Top Rank.
Kelvin Davis vs. Kevin Johnson [welterweight] 8 rounds
In a controversial win, Kelvin Davis defeated Kevin Johnson by majority decision 78-74, 78-74, 76-76 to move to 13-0. The crowd were clearly not impressed with the win and the feeling is that he will need to up his workload in future fights before winning over fans.
Keith Colon vs. Hunter Turbyfill [featherweight] 4 rounds
In a blistering flurry of shots, Keith Colon made his pro debut in style, getting the TKO in the second round against Hunter Turbyfill. The Newark native looks like he is ready for the pro game.
William Foster III vs. Eridson Garcia [junior lightweights] 10 rounds
In a furious battle that saw both fighters get their shots in, William Foster III found Eridson Garcia too much to handle as the Dominican won a unanimous decision 99-91, 98-92, 98-92. Garcia moves to 19-1.
Fisher Babic knockout
Over in London's Copper Box Arena, Johnny Fisher didn't disappoint with a lightning quick finish.
Eddie Hearn discusses the unbelievable rise of the everyman heavyweight prospect from east London as Johnny Fisher wins his first headlined show in style with a knockout inside of 30 seconds!
Read about the next big thing right here.
Feliz vs Perez
The preliminary bouts are just about to get underway. We will keep you updated with each fight as it happens, kicking off with Ali Feliz vs. Robinson Perez!
The Full Card
Main Card
Shakur Stevenson* vs. Artem Harutyunyan [WBC lightweight title] 12 rounds
O’Shaquie Foster* vs. Robson Conceicao [WBC junior lightweight title] 12 rounds
Keyshawn Davis vs. Miguel Madueno [lightweight] 10 rounds
Abdullah Mason vs. Luis Lebron [lightweight] 10 rounds
Kelvin Davis vs. Kevin Johnson [welterweight] 8 rounds
William Foster III vs. Eridson Garcia [junior lightweights] 10 rounds
Keith Colon vs. Hunter Turbyfill [featherweight] 4 rounds
Ali Feliz vs. Robinson Perez [heavyweight] 4 rounds
The main undercard is set to get underway at 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT.
Tale of the tape
Shakur Stevenson
Age: 27
Country: United States of America
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5ft 8in
Reach: 68”
Record: 21-0-0
Artem Haruntunyan
Age: 33
Country: Germany
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 7.5in
Reach: 68”
Record: 12-1-0
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to Diario AS USA’s live coverage of the WBC world lightweight title bout between Shakur Stevenson and Artem Haruntunyan from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
This is a grudge match of sorts for Shakur Stevenson. Not so much with his opponent but with his own promoter. This is the final fight on his Top Rank deal and Stevenson feels that he has been let down by Bob Arum and his company.
“I got a chip on my shoulder. Now that I got a chip on my shoulder, he’s got to deal with somebody that is very motivated. I’m coming to put on a show.”
Coming off of a successful defense of his title against Frank Martin, Stevenson is clear that he is not happy with the fights being made on his behalf. “I’m levels above Frank Martin. I think Artem is a good fighter, but he’s dealing with a different beast.”
Haruntunyan lost an eliminator to Frank Martin but is still getting his shot at the champ.
On the eve of becoming a free agent, Stevenson is making a homecoming to Newark, and crowds are hoping that the 2016 Olympic silver medallist will finally live up to his promise.
Boxing is all about “hit and don’t get hit.” Despite winning titles in three divisions, many fans find Stevenson’s focus on the second half of that equation to be boring and will not forgive him for not converting skill into knockouts.
Word around the campfire is that he is already looking ahead of Haruntunyan to a potential clash with Gervonta Davis. "Boxing turned on me but, at the end of the day, I'm a one-man army so I ain't tripping," Stevenson said. "I'll go against the world and what is going to happen? They are not going to be able to stop me."
Elsewhere on the undercard, O’Shaquie Foster will defend his WBC junior lightweight title against Robson Conceicao. This is Foster’s third title defense and Conceicao is the Olympian who pipped Stevenson for gold in 2016.