Opponent Set for Shakur Stevenson Hometown Showdown on July 6

It was recently revealed that Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs), a southpaw born in Newark, New Jersey, will be returning to the ring on July 6 at the Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, against an as-yet unknown opponent. According to Dan Rafael via his Fight Freaks Unite Substack, that opponent will be Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs).

Shakur Stevenson Next Fight Revealed

Shakur Stevenson Next Fight vs. Artem Harutyunyan

Stevenson will return to his hometown of Newark for the first time since he comprehensively beat Shuichiro Yoshino by sixth-round TKO. His next fight according to Dan Rafael’s sources will be against Harutyunyan as the the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card for July 6 at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey.

Stevenson enjoyed an impressive amateur career, winning the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Since turning professional, he has rapidly progressed, winning multiple world championships in three weight classes, from featherweight to lightweight. On November 16 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Stevenson won the third world title against Edwin De Los Santos by unanimous decision, with the judge’s scorecards reading 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113, in a fight that was criticized by all who saw it, as the fight lacked any notable action or talking points.

Uncertain Future for Shakur

The WBC strap won by Shaur was vacated by undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who gave up all belts before defeating Regis Prograis for the WBC world super lightweight title.

July 6 is set to be Stevenson’s last bout on his promotional deal with Top Rank unless an agreement is reached before the fight. Stevenson has been with Top Rank since he turned professional after the 2016 Olympics.

Harutyunyan, at 33 years old, will be the opposition, but probably not the one we and Stevenson hoped for. The Armenian-born fighter lost his most notable fight against Frank Martin by unanimous decision, with the judge’s scorecards reading 114-113 and 115-112 x2. “The Ghost” accepted a fight with Stevenson for the vacant lightweight title but pulled out over a money dispute with his team at PBC and was subsequently replaced by De Los Santos.