Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan fight prediction, odds, undercard, start time, expert picks, preview

The WBC lightweight champion is back in action on Saturday night in his hometown

Whether it's justified or not in boxing's arbitrary court of public opinion, Shakur Stevenson enters the final bout of his Top Rank deal on Saturday without the same fanfare and hype he so recently held. 

Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) returns to his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, to defend his WBC lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) inside the Prudential Center. But if you are only as good in boxing as your last performance, fans and experts alike can't seem to forgive the talented southpaw for the results of his most recent performance. 

It's not enough that the 27-year-old Stevenson, who captured the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, has won titles in three divisions while cementing himself among the pound-for-pound best in the sport. When Stevenson was propped up last November by Top Rank and ESPN to headline an important fight card during the same week as Formula 1's long-awaited debut on the Las Vegas strip, he failed to deliver on any of the expectations for excitement or entertainment.