WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson wasn’t taking any accountability for his combat in opposition to challenger Artem Harutyunyan, failing to impress followers the way in which he had hoped on the Prudential Middle in Newark, New Jersey.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Prime Rank)
Shakur Expresses Frustration with Opponent’s Techniques
After the combat, Shakur shifted all of the blame on Hartutyunyan (13-2, 7 KOs), saying he was working from him and simply attempting to outlive. The scores had been 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112.
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) seemed like he was too apprehensive about getting caught, which is why he didn’t go on the assault. Harutyunyan hit him with strong punches when he was attacking, exposing his lack of protection in assault mode.
Harutyunyan used motion within the second half of the combat as a result of he was drained and didn’t have the vitality to face and combat Shakur the way in which a youthful fighter would.
For instance, if this had been 20-year-old Abdullah Mason Shakur combating, he wouldn’t have needed to fear about him gassing out and working. Harutyunyan had already confirmed in his earlier combat in opposition to Frank Martin that he’s solely a six-round fighter, and has nothing left within the second half of his fights.
“He did precisely what I stated he was going to do. I used to be attempting to chop him off, however the dude was simply attempting to outlive,” stated Shakur Stevenson on the post-fight press convention, blaming his opponent Artem Harutyunyan for his failure to impress tonight.
“He was harder than I anticipated him to be. He would combat again and simply do some bit to maintain me from getting a stoppage,” stated Shakur.
He couldn’t cease Harutyunyan, even when he had stood and fought him somewhat than shifting as a result of his energy wasn’t there.
“If I can’t get these fights, I’m cool with it. I’m pleased and making hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. My household is nice,” stated Shakur about his perspective if he fails to get the fights he needs in opposition to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Vasily Lomachenko. “I can’t drive these fights to occur if these guys don’t wish to combat me.”
After tonight, Shakur’s possibilities of getting fights in opposition to Tank and Lomachenko might have dropped much more than it already was.
“Within the first three or 4 rounds, I used to be attempting to get adjusted,” stated Shakur about his opponent Harutyunyan. “He’s not like a standard fighter. He was bouncing. So, he would give a bit feint after which throw some punches.
“Then I used to be like, ‘Okay, I’m getting a bit adjusted,’ however then after a short time, I used to be like, ‘Let me choose it up and begin stepping to this dude. I began stepping to him. He’s an okay fighter. He is aware of the way to survive.”
Harutyunyan out-fought Shakur in a minimum of two of the ultimate six rounds of the bout. He wasn’t working. He was shifting, stopping and throwing pictures.
“These guys come to outlive, and their goal is to ensure they make it twelve rounds. I did what I might [to entertain fans]. I let my arms go at instances and put some punishment on him at instances. That dude was simply ensuring he stayed on his toes,” stated Shakur about Harutyunyan.
