WBC lightweight champion Shakur (21-0, 10 KOs) is hoping for a big offer from a prominent promoter like Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, but if he doesn’t make an impression, he won’t get it. Shakur may find it challenging to prevail and look good against Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs), as he won’t be outlasted if someone is standing in front of him.
At the weigh-in on Friday, Shakur made it clear that he would be aiming after Harutyunyan’s midsection, which is where Frank Martin had the most success during their July 2023 match last year. In addition, Stevenson believes that a unification match versus WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis is winnable and will propel him into a PPV phenomenon. The 27-year-old Shakur might prevail in that bout, but only if he uses the same hit-and-run strategy as he did against Edwin De Los Santos.
“That’s the fight [Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson] that we all want, but you got to focus on the guy in front of him. It’s not about winning. Yeah, we all assume he’s going to win this fight,” said boxing expert Chris Algieri in media reports.
No matter how good he looks today, Shakur isn’t going to face Tank Davis in a battle. The management of Tank is hoping for the November unification bout against IBF champion Vasily Lomachenko.
Following Tank’s victory, a rematch with Lomachenko and a second bout with Ryan Garcia are both possible. Shakur is not even close to Ryan’s level of popularity, therefore a rematch between those two would be significantly more significant than one including Ryan.
If Shakur is defeated by one of the opponents, such as William Zepeda, Raymond Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason, he may not get the chance to face Tank Davis until 2026 at the latest.
“I think Shakur is going to go out there and try to get Artem out of there. I think that would be a really big statement if he’s able to stop him, whereas Frank Martin did not. Frank Martin actually struggled with Artem late,” said Algieri.
