I think I’m one of the best in the sport at hit and don’t get hit – Shakur Stevenson
Brick City is ready to host a summer fight extravaganza headline by a native son, Shakur Stevenson, looking to put the rest of the lightweight division on notice. Stevenson will defend his WBC world title against top contender Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday evening in Newark, New Jersey.
Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs), a three-weight king and one of the sport’s pound-for-pound elites, hopes to turn away Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs), a 33-year-old who captured Olympic bronze for Germany at the 2016 Olympics. Stevenson-Harutyunyan tops a special four-fight telecast.
O’Shaquie Foster will defend his WBC junior lightweight world title against Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceição in the co-feature, and lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis will take on Mexican puncher Miguel Madueño in a 10-round special feature. In the eight-round televised opener, Cleveland-born lightweight phenom Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) steps up against Puerto Rican veteran Luis Lebron (20-5-1, 13 KOs).
Stevenson-Harutyunyan, Foster-Conceição, Davis-Madueño, and Mason-Lebron will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN, Deportes, and ESPN+ at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
Undercard action, streaming exclusively on ESPN+, begins at 6:10 p.m. ET/3:10 p.m. PT
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Universum Boxing, remaining tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.com.
This is what the fighters had to say at Wednesday’s press conference.
Shakur Stevenson
“This place is very special. I appreciate my fans. I appreciate everybody that comes out to support in Newark. And we’re going to put on a show.”
“I really want to talk about him. I’m not falling for that. You’re trying to act real humble and butter me up and act like you’re not really coming here to win. No, you’re coming here to win, bro. I already know. He doesn’t sound as confident as I thought he would sound. Hopefully, he’s coming to fight.”
“I’m going to take him to a level he’s never been on. I’m just going to be myself. I’m going to come out and show my talent and show my levels. I think I’m one of the best in the sport of boxing at hit and don’t get hit. There’s a certain way of doing that, and I want to show the fans that all that moving around is something I don’t really have to do. I can sit in the pocket and beat you up, too.”
Artem Harutyunyan
“I was born in Armenia, and I grew up in Germany. I’ve come all the way here to fight Shakur Stevenson in his hometown. It’s a big opportunity for me. I will do my best and give a great fight.”
“I came to Las Vegas last year. I was fighting Frank Martin. It was a great fight. I know Frank Martin knows he lost the fight. I told everybody that I would be back in the States. And now it’s happened. I’m back here.”
“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 is a world champion. We both fought at the Olympic games. He is a silver medalist, and I’m a bronze medalist. Now we’re fighting for the world championship.”