Shakur Stevenson retained the lightweight belt, defeating Artem Harutyunyan in the last fight of Top Rank

NEWARK, NJ — Heading into the final fight of his Top Rank promotional contract, Shakur Stevenson had to make a game change that removed the bad taste Edwin De Los Santos’ snooze left in the mouths of boxing fans. An exciting win for the stalwart veteran could only help boost his marketability as he approaches free agency.

Artem Harutyunyan was not interested in playing the album.

Stevenson retained the WBC lightweight title by unanimous decision, defeating Harutyunyan by unanimous decision at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ by scores of 119-109, 118-110, 116-112. While there was never any doubt about the outcome, it was far from the performance some had hoped for.

Stevenson, 27, is walking away with his belt, but not the momentum that will fuel talk of money wars with players like Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

After a quiet start that saw the home fans booing in the third round, Stevenson (22-0, 10 knockouts) turned on the jets in the fourth round, tearing Harutyunyan to the body with left hands that began to produce red marks on Harutyunyan’s midsection. Stevenson turned it up another notch in the sixth and seventh, walking Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) down and rocking him with left hand counters that threatened to break his face, if not his will.

In the eighth round, the fans raised the alarm again, only this time they were complaining about not wanting Harutyunyan to get involved, as the left hands to the body began to abuse. By the tenth round, the insults had left Stevenson left, and his right hook, which he had used sparingly at the start of the fight, became a scoring option.

The crowd roared again in the eleventh round, with many fans starting to leave before the twelfth round began. Stevenson provided the final burst of offense with one minute remaining in the twelfth, but both sides seemed to accept that this was heading to the scorecards.

Stevenson, who became champion under the Top Rank banner in 2017 after winning silver at the Rio Olympics last year, had asked to fight Davis or his number. 1 William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), who scored a third-round knockout against Giovanni Cabrera earlier in the night in Ontario, Calif.

Those fights may be easier to make now that Stevenson can go head-to-head with the aforementioned boxers’ promoter. Stevenson, managed by James Prince, appeared unsure when asked what he planned to do next, without remaining adamant that he was looking for the best challenges available.

“I want to fight the best fighters in boxing. That way you’ll get to see the best version of me, if you put me in there with someone else who’s fighting for a comeback,” Stevenson said.