Shakur Stevenson Said He Tried To Finish Artem Harutyunyan

Shakur Stevenson picked up a one-sided decision win over Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday to retain his WBC lightweight title.

The fight served as Stevenson’s last fight on his Top Rank deal as he now becomes a free agent. Although Stevenson won, he didn’t get the knockout that many fans wanted and expected.

However, Stevenson claims that he did try but Harutyunyan didn’t engage and was just focused on serving.

“It’s kind of hard to prove [you’re the best] if you don’t have a fighter trying to fight back; he’s just trying to survive,” said Stevenson. “I would have wanted him to try a little harder so it could be a more fun fight. I did everything I could to get him out of there, too. I got to cut off the ring a little bit more. … I’m going to go back to the gym and work on cutting off the ring.”

With the win, Shakur Stevenson is now 22-0 as a pro and coming off the win over Harutyunyan. Following the victory, Stevenson is calling for the chance to box the best fighters like Gervonta Davis.

“I want to fight the best fighters in boxing,” Stevenson said. “That’s how you’re going to get to see the best version of me, when you put me in the ring with someone else that wants to fight back and compete. If they don’t fight me, they don’t fight me. I’m just going to stay in the gym and be ready.”

Who Stevenson signs with is uncertain, but the goal for the undefeated boxer is to get the big fights next time out.

Stevenson holds notable wins over Robson Conceicao, Oscar Valdez, Jamel Herring, and Shuichiro Yoshino among others.