NEWARK, N.J. — Shakur Stevenson says he has a “chip on his shoulder” going into his fight this Saturday night against Artem Harutyunyan in Newark, New Jersey. He aims to silence critics who consider him dull and lacking courage.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) is frustrated because fans no longer see him as “that guy” they once believed him to be after his performance against Edwin De Los Santos last November. Shakur, 27, wants to prove his doubters wrong by delivering an impressive show against Harutyunyan (13-1, 7 KOs) in their main event on ESPN at the Prudential Center in Newark on July 6th.
The 27-yeay-old Shakur Stevenson initially defended his boo-filled performance against De Los Santos by claiming he was injured, but now he says he had to fight that way because he’s a puncher. He asserts he fought Oscar Valdez in the pocket, but that’s not accurate. Shakur was on the move against Valdez and even more so against Jeremiah Nakathilia.
If Shakur can’t engage punchers in the pocket at least some of the time, he’ll struggle to establish himself as a marketable fighter at 135, given the number of powerful fighters in the division.“I’m levels above Frank Martin. I think Artem is a good fighter, but he’s dealing with a different beast come July 6th. I got a chip on my shoulder. Now that I got a chip on my shoulder, he’s got to deal with somebody that is very motivated. I’m coming to put on a show,” said Shakur Stevenson in media reports.
In terms of entertainment, Shakur is far below Frank Martin, not above. While Shakur might be a better fighter in his own way, he isn’t as entertaining as Martin and doesn’t come close to some of the more exciting contenders in the lightweight division.
“It’s from people playing around with me, trying to act like I’m a person that I say. I’ve got a lot of built-up frustration because I’ve delivered so many times out, and I’m going against a tough fighter. I got a bad situation. A lot of people threw me out of the room. ‘He’s not this,’ ” added Shakur.
Due to his ego, Stevenson cannot acknowledge the flaws in his game or respond to extensive fan feedback. Instead of heeding their input, Shakur remains steadfast in his delusional perspective and resistant to change, ultimately becoming his own biggest obstacle.
