Shakur Stevenson Must Deliver An Amazing Performance Tonight Against Artem Harutyunyan

Shakur Stevenson needs to look good tonight in his matchup with Artem Harutyunyan for a number of reasons, starting with his impending free agency.

(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Position)

Free Agency and Bargaining

Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs), the WBC lightweight champion, wants to be offered a lot of money with a big promoter, like Eddie Hearn's Matchroom, but he won't get what he wants if he doesn't perform well.

Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs) can make things difficult for Shakur to win and look because he won't take him out without standing in front of him.

Pointing to Harutyunyan's Weaknesses

Shakur announced on Friday that he will be heading to the center of Harutyunyan, which is where Frank Martin found great success last year in their tournament in July 2023.

Stevenson wants a unification fight with WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis because he feels that the fight is winnable and will make him a PPV star.

If Shakur, 27, gets that fight, he might win, but only if he fights under the same manager as Edwin De Los Santos.

Davis Fight Can't Happen Next

“That is war [Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson] what we all want, but you have to focus on the person in front of you. It's not about winning. Yes, we all think he will win this fight,” said boxing expert Chris Algieri speaking to Probox TV about Shakur Stevenson's fight tonight against Artem Harutyunyan.

Shakur won't be fighting Tank Davis next, no matter how good he looks tonight. Tank's management wants a unification fight with IBF champion Vasily Lomachenko in November.

If Tank wins that fight, he will likely have another fight with Lomachenko and then a second fight with Ryan Garcia. The matchup between those two could be even bigger than the one involving Shakur, who is nowhere near as famous as Ryan.

Shakur may have to wait until 2026 at the earliest for his chance to fight Tank Davis, but that's assuming he doesn't get beat by one of his contenders like William Zepeda, Raymond Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason.

Need for a Victory Statement

If Edwin De Los Santos comes close to beating Shakur, those guys could have an even bigger chance.

“Good looking. It's not about winning or losing. How beautiful he looks. Artem said [at the weigh-in]. 'Everybody wants you to lose,' and Shakur was like, 'I know, but I'm coming at you. It won't happen.' He [Shakur] he goes, 'I'm going right there [Harutyunyan’s body]. I hope you make your case.'

“I think Shakur is going to come out and try to get Artem out of there. I think that would be a really big statement if he can stop him, while Frank Martin hasn't. Frank Martin has had trouble with Artem of late,” Algieri said.

Shakur almost tried to take out Harutyunyan to show the fans that his last misdeed was just a fluke. Also, Stevenson needs to impress to get a big offer from one of the developers.

Limited options with Matchroom

I'm not sure if Matchroom will help Shakur achieve his goal of getting Tank Davis because they have no power over him. What they can do is give him a fight with Andy Cruz at lightweight, which would be difficult for him and the 140 they have. None of them are famous.

If Shakur signs with Matchroom, he may be limited to these fighters: Liam Paro, Andy Cruz, Richardson Hitchins, Regis Prograis, Jack Catterall and Subriel Matias.

“He's a tough guy. He's the kind of guy in terms of style that would make Shakur look good. “I think Shakur should take this opportunity to make a statement with the younger players because he is in the current situation where that big fight, that tough fight, that kind of final goals with Tank Davis can be reached,” said Algieri.

I don't think Harutyunyan can make Shakur look good. He looked good compared to those who were outnumbered or powerless. Harutyunyan has enough speed and power to keep Shakur from dominating him like he did in his first 135 fight against Shuichiro Yoshino.

He did not look good against De Los Santos, Robson Conceicao, Oscar Valdez, and Jeremiah Nakathilia. Fans found those fights boring, and Shakur spent a lot of time running around.