The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey hosts yet another massive title fight between Shakur Stevenson and Artem Harutyunyan. This will be Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotion’s first massive PPV fight of July 2024 with the WBC lightweight title on the line.
Guaranteed with a staggering $1.5 million purse, the undefeated champion (21-0), Stevenson’s earnings are speculated to go up to $4 mil if the PPV shares increase more than $700k in sales on fight day.
As for his German counterpart and title challenger, Harutyunyan, he is expected to bag a guaranteed money of $400k for the contest.
https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/1808558095997579273
Ever since his debut in 2017, ‘Killer Kur’ hasn’t looked back, destroying opponents one after the other to challenge Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC belt.
However, even the experienced southpaw couldn’t stop Stevenson’s advance and fell to the 27-year-old, handing the belt to the American via UD. This bout earned him a $1 million paycheck and the PPV shares got him a fat purse of around $3 million!
Not to mention that the upcoming bout on July 6 is also expected to earn him a fortune with the champ taking 70% of the PPV cut as opposed to 30% by the challenger.
Despite his inexperience fighting for a world title, Harutyunyan is confident that he will “shock” Stevenson’s home crowd and hand the champion his first defeat.
Harutyunyan vows to break home-town hearts against Stevenson
Unlike fellow American and champion, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, ‘Killer Kur’ might not have match-ending power in his hands but he certainly knows his craft and his record speaks volumes about the boxer’s capabilities.
In fact, out of his 21 wins, 11 have been knockouts but this hasn’t deterred the challenger from claiming that he would shock Stevenson’s home crowd.
Having suffered a loss against southpaw Frank Martin last July, the Armenian-born German is eyeing a stellar comeback by beating the champion in his backyard.
As per ESPN, Harutyunyan said that while he respected Stevenson as a champion, he was coming for the title and wouldn’t stop till he got his hands on it.
“I respect Shakur Stevenson as a champion, but I’m coming to shock his hometown fans and win the WBC lightweight championship. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I will take full advantage of it.”
The July 6 bout will mark Stevenson’s first title defense and the American’s third bout as a lightweight ever since he jumped from junior lightweight.
