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- What: WBC lightweight title fight
- Who: Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan
- Date: Saturday, July 6, 2024
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
- How to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+
On Saturday, WBC lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson defends his belt in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, against Artem Harutyunyan in the main event of a Top Rank on ESPN card at Prudential Center. Stevenson has claimed titles in three divisions during his career. He won the vacant WBC lightweight title in November, beating Edwin De Los Santos by decision. Stevenson is the No. 4 rated 145-pound boxer, according to The Ring. Harutyunyan is unranked by The Ring, but the German fighter is ranked No. 7 by the WBC. Here is some information on the fighters before we look at the betting breakdown of the upcoming title fight.
Shakur Stevenson (21-0 with 10 knockouts) is 27. He’s held titles at featherweight and junior lightweight before capturing his lightweight belt. Stevenson’s deal with Top Rank expires with this fight, and he wil become a free agent following the event. Stevenson won a Silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Artem Harutyunyan (12-1 with 7 KOs) is coming off his first career loss. The 33-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to Frank Martin in July 2023. Like Stevenson, Harutyunyan fought for his country in the Olympics, picking up a Bronze medal in 2016.
Before we look at the lightweight title fight between Shakur Stevenson and Artem Harutyunyan, check out the best boxing betting sites, where you can find the best boxing picks.
Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan betting picks
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| Shakur Stevenson | -3300 | -3300 | -3000 | -3030 |
| Artem Harutyunyan | +1200 | +1200 | +1000 | +870 |
Shakur Stevenson betting breakdown
Former two-division champ and an Olympic silver medalist, Shakur Stevenson is one of the most talented technical boxers in the business. The 27-year-old is fast on his feet and has excellent offensive and countering skills. He has the skills to force his opponent to make mistakes and then capitalize on those technical errors. Stevenson has excellent fundamentals, and he fights well at distance and in close. However, Stevenson is facing many questions coming off his title-winning bout against Edwin De Los Santos. The fight was not very active, as neither man landed double-digit blows in any of the 12 rounds. Stevenson could have been much more active in that outing, landing just 19 power punches throughout the contest.
This is an important matchup for Stevenson. With his contract expiring and lightweight fighters like Gervonta Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and William Zepeda ranked above him. Stevenson needs to be more impressive if he hopes to land a big deal with a new promoter and a matchup against one of the more hyped boxers in the division.
Artem Harutyunyan betting breakdown
Artem Harutyunyan has never fought for a major world title. He has held “International” belts for the WBC and IBO. Harutyunyan’s first fight outside of Germany was his Las Vegas matchup with Martin, where he went 12 rounds in a more competitive fight than many thought it would be before the fighters stepped into the ring. One of the reasons for that was Harutyunyan’s activity; while he didn’t throw or land as much as Martin, he was still busy connecting on 117 of 442 punches while landing 91 power punches on 299 attempts.
To succeed against Stevenson, Harutyunyan needs to do what he did against Martin: pressure early and throw a lot of volume. He needs to take risks to reap the rewards of this matchup because his technical skills are not at Stevenson’s level.
Harutyunyan did some damage to Martin’s body and also scored with counters. He should also be very confident coming off that fight, even though he did not win.
Best Bets for Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan
Shakur Stevenson is the better boxer of these two, and he faces a lot of pressure in this fight. I expect he’ll look much better in this matchup than he did in his last outing because Artem Harutyunyan will take the fight to him early. The betting pick is for Shakur Stevenson to retain his WBC lightweight title via decision. However, with the odds being what they are and how close the scorecards were for Martin vs. Harutyunyan, there is some excellent betting value in picking Harutyunyan to score an upset win, and there’s always a chance for a draw.
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