Shakur Stevenson retains WBC lightweight title in rout of Artem Harutyuyan

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson(22-0, 10 KOS) refers to himself as the most hated man in boxing. The young Newark, New Jersey native took the ring in his final fight under the Top Rank banner. Stevenson was determined to deliver a far more entertaining fight, but the stoppage didn't materialize. 

"It's kind of hard to prove [you're the best] if you don't have a fighter trying to fight back; he's just trying to survive," said Stevenson, 27. "... I would have wanted him to try a little harder so it could be a more fun fight. "I did everything I could to get him out of there, too. I got to cut off the ring a little bit more. I'm going to go back to the gym and work on cutting off the ring."

Unfortunately, for Stevenson he’s one of the brightest young fighters in boxing but doesn’t get the respect he deserves due to the lack of opponents. A part of his dispute with Top Rank is that he has never been offered that signature fight that proves his skillset. There were boos during the final two rounds of what was mostly an uneventful fight. Stevenson said the boos were aimed at Harutyunyan because "He ain't really try to make the fight." Harutyunyan landed double-digit punches in only one round, the ninth.

Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) was fighting in his first world-title bout. He entered the ring coming off a spirited effort loss to lightweight contender Frank Martin in July, a fight in which he was dropped in the 12th round. As for what’s next for Stevenson. He rejected a five-fight extension offer that would have guaranteed him $3 million per bout. Stevenson went on to win titles at 126, 130 and 135 pounds, where he currently reigns. All of his 22 pro fights have been promoted by Top Rank.

Stevenson has been clamoring for a big fight and doesn’t see Top Rank capable of delivering on that end. "I want to fight the best fighters in boxing," Stevenson said. "That's how you're going to get to see the best version of me, when you put me in the ring with someone else that wants to fight back and compete." The division's top two boxers, Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko, are in negotiations to fight later this year.