Stevenson Retains WBC lightweight Title with Unanimous Decision Over Harutyunyan
Unbeaten American Shakur Stevenson retained his World Boxing Council lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. Stevenson, now 22-0 with 10 knockouts, made his first title defense since winning the belt against Edwin De Los Santos last November.
The fight, held at the Prudential Center in Stevenson’s hometown, began slowly, with fans growing restless. However, Stevenson started to dominate in the sixth round, wearing down the Armenian-born German challenger with a series of body shots. He maintained control through the 12th round, with judges scoring the bout 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112 in his favor.
Harutyunyan, making his first world title bid, fell to 12-2 with seven knockouts.
On the same card, Brazilian Robson Conceicao captured the WBC super featherweight title with a controversial 12-round split decision over O’Shaquie Foster. Foster, visibly stunned by the decision, believed he had done enough to retain his title.
Conceicao, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, improved to 19-2 with one draw and nine knockouts. “I do think I was actually the winner,” Conceicao said. “I tried way more. He didn’t come to fight, he was actually running, running, running, I kept on striking, so I was the winner.”
Foster, who now stands at 22-3 with 12 knockouts, was left bewildered. “I thought it was a shut-out,” Foster said. “I didn’t get touched but with a head-butt. I don’t know, man … I want a rematch.”
The judges scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113 for Conceicao, while the third judge had it 116-112 for Foster.
(Source: AFP)
