Shakur Stevenson took a clear unanimous decision victory at the Prudential Center as he defended his WBC lightweight world title from Artem Harutyunyan.
Fighting in his Newark hometown, the American outboxed his challenger to win by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 after 12 rounds.
The Armenian-born Germany-based Harutyunyan is a 2016 Olympic medallist but was entering this fight after a near year-long lay-off. Ultimately he could not threaten Stevenson and was hurt multiple times by body shots.
Stevenson outboxed his challenger
“He’s just trying to make sure he survives,” Stevenson said afterwards. “He’s a good fighter. He’s tough. He’s strong. I would’ve wanted him to try a little harder, so that way it could be a more fun fight.
“I have to cut off the ring a bit more. He’d go one way and then go the other way, so I got to go back in the gym and work on cutting off the ring.”
Harutyunyan said: “Of course it was fun. Boxing is not a game. You have to fight. You get hit and have to hit back. It’s normal.”
In a shock result on the undercard Brazilian Olympic gold medallist Robson Conceicao defeated O’Shaquie Foster to win the WBC super-featherweight title.
It was Conceicao’s fourth attempt at winning a world title and a split decision went his way. Foster won 116-112 on one card, but the other two judges ruled it 116-112 and 115-113 for Conceicao.
O’Shaquie Foster insisted he deserved the decision against Robson Conceicao
“This is for my daughter. I promised this to my daughter, and I was able to fulfil that promise. I’m the champion of the world,” Conceicao said.
Foster bitterly disagreed with the result. “I thought it was easy. I thought it was an easy fight. I didn’t get touched except with a headbutt. I don’t know, man,” he said.
“I’ll be back. But I want the rematch. They stole this from me. They stole this fight from me. I just wanted to show the world I could bang it out, and if I want to, I don’t have to get touched. I guess it wasn’t good enough for the judges.”
Keyshawn Davis overcame the pressure and roughhouse tactics of Miguel Madueno to secure a unanimous decision win and improve his record to 11-0.
Davis, an Olympic silver medallist from Norfolk, Virginia, kept calm and used well-timed counter-punches, triumphing 99-91 on all three scorecards.
The two tussled after the end of round six and in the seventh Madueno, 31-3 (28), lifted Davis clear off his feet.
Davis found his offensive groove in the ninth and 10th rounds and viciously out-landed Madueno.
“He’s a rough type of a guy, a real physical type of guy,” Davis said. “We were doing a lot of rough tactics in there, just trying to get under each other’s skin.
Keyshawn Davis got to grips with Miguel Madueno
“We were both tough in there, and neither of our wills got broke.”
Also on the undercard Cleveland prodigy Abdullah Mason knocked out Luis Lebron in the third round. Lebron had never been stopped before but Mason made easy work of the Puerto Rican veteran.
Mason knocked Lebron down twice in the second round, first with an overhand left and then with a series of right hooks. The end was near, and Lebron’s corner threw in the towel at 1-18 of the third to prevent further damage.
Mason said: “I guess we fed him a little bit of smoke, and he didn’t have the appetite for it.”
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