Shakur Stevenson just won his bout against Artem Harutyunyan, you guessed it, via a unanimous decision. However, it appears he couldn’t quite erase memories of his disappointing showing against Edwin De Los Santos last November. As the fight began, a roaring crowd of Stevenson’s hometown was in the Prudential Center to watch Stevenson’s last fight under the umbrella of Top Rank. 

They were expecting a slugfest, having endured Stevenson’s boring fight against De Los Santos. However, reminiscent of his last fight, even this one was lacking in any real action. The first round saw the duo throw a combined five punches, as Stevenson went back to his old tactics to avoid engagement at all costs while taking advantage of gaps in Harutyunyan’s defence. Seeing this unfold, Oscar De La Hoya, Frank Martin and others joined in to slam the 27-year-old boxer. 

Shakur Stevenson attacked on all fronts

Even though Stevenson refused to take risks, and stuck to his strategy, he did try to stop the fight in the mid rounds, but Harutyunyan managed to avoid any knockdowns despite catching several shots from Stevenson. So, after the fight concluded, Oscar De La Hoya, who has beefed with Stevenson before on social media, decided to take another dig at the Newark native. 

He wrote on X, “Fighting for the fans is what @williamzepeda2 does unlike some fighters.” It’s worth mentioning that Oscar has been trying to arrange a fight between Stevenson and William Zepeda for quite a while, but nothing has happened quite yet. Meanwhile, Frank Martin hopped on X to describe his thoughts about the fight with a few sleeping emojis, implying the fight was an utter snooze fest. 

Even undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner seemed disappointed with Stevenson’s showing. She wrote, “As a fighter we just happy to get the s**t done.. Go celebrate! RELAX”. However, she wasn’t done! In a later tweet, Baumgardner added, “That free agent attitude real… lol I’m up next.” She followed that by claiming now that Shakur Stevenson is a free agent, his strategy is just enough to continue in his next fights. 

Unexpectedly, professional boxer Andre Berto also chimed in, writing, “Why Top Rank show the people in the arena leaving smh. They nasty for that lol, it’s Shakur’s last fight with them. So I believe they are being petty, showing they don’t mind letting him go”.

So, the question now is, why does Shakur Stevenson prioritize a safe win over his image as a slow fighter? 

‘Sugar’ Stevenson reveals his trauma 

Not that long ago, Stevenson appeared in an interview with CTESPN, where he said, “I think my trauma is losing. I don’t ever want to lose”. While this could easily be seen as the reason why Stevenson actively looks to secure an easy win over getting involved in a slugfest, every fighter has their own unique style, which they subconsciously go back to when in the ring. 

Regardless, Stevenson continued, “I lost in the Olympics they got me crying on tv. I work so hard to make sure that s**t don’t happen.” After winning the senior U.S. Olympic trials in 2015, Stevenson qualified for the U.S Boxing team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. He won a silver medal before losing to Robeisy Ramírez of Cuba for the gold. So, remembering his loss, Stevenson added, “If you go against me and you beat me..you are a bad mother f**ker”.

With that said, Shakur Stevenson has once again left fans disappointed with what many are calling a slow and unexciting performance. This may further damage his reputation as a dull fighter, potentially costing him lucrative opportunities in the future. What are your thoughts on Stevenson’s latest fight? Stay tuned for updates!