Newark’s Prudential Center hosted yet another million-dollar spectacle after Shakur Stevenson successfully defended his WBC lightweight crown against the Armenian-born German boxer, Artem Harutyunyan. In fact, Stevenson’s first title defense has made him a fortune, with the 27-year-old champion reportedly earning over a million dollars.
The 12-round title fight ended in a unanimous decision with all three judges ruling in favor of the American, 119-109/118-110/116-112. With this win, ‘Killer Kur’ has extended his winning streak to 22-0, remaining undefeated while also handing the former champ another loss.
Saturday’s main event will earn Shakur $1.5 million as a guaranteed purse for his 22nd bout according to USA Today. On top of that, 70% of the PPV will go to Stevenson, which might lead to the 27-year-old walking away with 4 million dollars depending on the PPV sales.
As for the former champ, Harutyunyan, his commendable effort on Saturday will most likely earn him a generous amount from the remaining 30% of PPV shares. Moreover, Harutyunyan is guaranteed a purse of $400,000 for the bout as per the aforementioned source.
Interestingly, despite being eligible for a massive purse, Stevenson did not light the boxing world on fire with his performance. Instead, he did enough to win the judges over, adding Harutkyunyan to his list of victims.
Stevenson outguns challenger to retain his belt
Stevenson entered the arena, intending to captivate the masses and quench the thirst for a knockout. However, this dream of his remained unfulfilled, although he did put in just enough of an effort to retain his title.
Despite coming off a devastating loss in his last bout, Stevenson once again proved his mettle, negating the German’s strategy. In fact, the American successfully countered Hanutyunyan’s attempts to walk him down by managing the distance effectively and backstepping to avoid any heat.
The strategy was brilliant, a textbook move that helped the champ retain the belt but was more of a snoozer for fans who expected an action-packed duel.
