Stevenson retains WBC title with underwhelming victory

American Shakur Stevenson retained his WBC lightweight title with a disappointing points win over Artem Harutyunyan in New Jersey.

Stevenson, 27, outboxed his Armenian opponent in a fight he has always been comfortable with.

He was awarded the victory with the judges scoring the fight 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 in his favor.

There were some boos from the crowd at the end of the fight, but Stevenson defended his performance saying “It’s kind of hard to prove it if you don’t have a fighter trying to fight back.”

Speaking to ESPN, he added: “I want to fight the best fighters.

“That’s how you’ll see the best version of me, when you put me in the ring with someone else who wants to fight and compete.”

Stevenson, a former featherweight and super featherweight champion, remains undefeated since his professional debut in 2017.

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