Shakur Stevenson returns to the ring Saturday to defend his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan. The fight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (ESPN/ESPN+, 8:30 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 6:10 p.m. ET) will be the main event of a Top Rank Boxing card that includes a junior lightweight title fight between WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster and perennial contender Robson Conceicao.
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is a former featherweight and junior lightweight champion. He also won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics representing the United States. After winning the WBO junior lightweight title with a 10th-round TKO victory over Jamel Herring in October 2021, Stevenson added the WBC belt with a unanimous decision victory over Oscar Valdez in April 2022. But Stevenson lost the belts on the scale when he couldn’t make weight for a title defense against Conceicao in September 2022. He then moved up to 135 pounds and earned a sixth-round TKO victory over Shuichiro Yoshino in April.
In November 2023, Stevenson defeated Edwin De Los Santos by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 116-112) to win the then-vacant WBC lightweight title in a forgettable fight that broke the 38-year-old CompuBox record for fewest punches landed in a 12-round fight. De Los Santos landed just 40 total punches and only 14 power shots. Stevenson didn’t fare much better, landing just 65 total punches, including 19 power shots.
Regardless, Stevenson is back in action on home turf.
“It’s nice to come home to Newark, where they appreciate a young legend, and make my first title defense at 135,” Stevenson said after the fight was officially announced on May 7.
Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs), a native of Yerevan, Armenia, (but based in Hamburg, Germany) has never fought for a world title. In his first fight outside of Germany, he suffered the only loss of his career, a unanimous decision to Frank Martin last July in Las Vegas.
“I respect Shakur Stevenson as a champion, but I come to surprise his home fans and win the WBC lightweight title,” Harutyunyan said. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I will take full advantage of it.”
Let’s take a look at the title fight by the numbers. Information from ESPN Stats & Information and CompuBox was used in this report.
1. Stevenson is making the first defense of his WBC lightweight title, which he won against De Los Santos in July 2023.
3. This is Stevenson’s third fight at lightweight. He made his debut in that division against Yoshino in April.
13. Unlucky number 13 for Harutyunyan, who after winning his first 12 professional fights, lost a unanimous decision to Martin, his first career defeat.
7. Stevenson is the youngest fighter to win a third-division title since Naoya Inoue accomplished the feat in 2019. Stevenson is also just the seventh fighter to do so all-time.
1. Harutyunyan is hoping to become the first German boxer to win a major world title in the lightweight category. Marco Rudolph lost an eighth-round technical knockout to Artur Grigorian in 1998 while fighting for the WBO belt.
6. Stevenson is the sixth boxer to be a champion in three weight classes while winning an Olympic medal. The other five boxers on this list (Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather) have all been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Stevenson is also the sixth boxer to win titles in the 126-, 130- and 135-pound weight classes. He is the youngest of that group to accomplish this feat.
46.83. Stevenson lands 46.83% of his power punches, the third-best percentage according to CompuBox. He also has the lowest opponent connection percentage (16.7%) in all of boxing, according to CompuBox.
In their own words – at Wednesday’s press conference
Harutyunyan on this opportunity: “I was born in Armenia and raised in Germany. I came all the way here to fight Shakur Stevenson in his hometown. This is a great opportunity for me. I will do my best and put up a great fight.”
Harutyunyan on his last fight in the USA: “I came to Las Vegas last year. I fought Frank Martin. It was a great fight. I know Frank Martin knows he lost the fight. I told everybody I was coming back to the States. And now it’s happened. I’m back here.”
Harutyunyan on his preparation for the fight: “It’s a great opportunity. I had a great training camp and I’m well prepared. I’m ready for this fight. I know Shakur Stevenson is a good fighter. He’s a world champion. We both fought in the Olympics. He’s a silver medalist and I’m a bronze medalist. Now we’re fighting for the world championship.”
Stevenson on the praise given to Harutyunyan at Wednesday’s press conference: “You’re trying to act humble and flatter me, like you didn’t really come here to win. No, you came here to win, brother. I already know that. He doesn’t seem as confident as I thought. I hope he comes to fight.”
Stevenson on his approach to combat: “I’m going to take him to a level he’s never been to. I’m just going to be myself. I’m going to go out and show my talent and my skill level. I think I’m one of the best in the sport of boxing at hitting and not getting hit. There’s a certain way to do that, and I want to show the fans that all those moves are something I don’t really have to do. I can also stay in the pocket and beat you up.”
