Shakur Stevenson W12 Artem Harutyunyan... There is no place like Newark for Shakur Stevenson. The WBC lightweight champion defended his crown in front of the hometown faithful with a unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday evening at Prudential Center by scores of 119-109, 118-110, and 116-112.

Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) never was threatened by his Armenian-born, German-based challenger, who entered the fight coming off a nearly yearlong layoff. Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) was hurt with body shots on multiple occasions, and while Stevenson fought on his front foot for much of the fight's second half, he was unable to finish off his stubborn foe.

“It’s kind of hard to prove it if you don’t have a fighter who wants to fight back. He’s just trying to make sure he survives. 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," Stevenson said. “I have to cut off the ring a bit more. He’d go one way and then go the other way, so I gotta go back in the gym and work on cutting off the gym.”

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.”