Boxing: Shakur Stevenson leaves Zuffa Boxing without a fight

Shakur Stevenson will never box for Zuffa Boxing. The American, 25-0 with 11 knockouts, said on his YouTube channel on Monday, October 19, that he had asked to be released from his contract and that the UFC-linked promotion agreed over the weekend. He is now a free agent. His deal, announced on July 9, lasted three months.

Stevenson, 29, a four-division world champion, has held the WBO and Ring junior welterweight titles since outpointing Teofimo Lopez on January 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York. He has not fought since.

Weight sank the Haney fight

The fight he wanted against Devin Haney stalled over weight. According to Stevenson, talks moved from 144 to 145 pounds before Haney's lawyer pushed for 147, the welterweight limit. Haney says he had agreed to 145 and that Stevenson then tried to add a rehydration clause, which caps how much weight a fighter can regain between the weigh-in and the bout. Haney has since signed directly with DAZN. Talks with WBA junior welterweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell went nowhere either.

In his video, Stevenson said he had spent eight weeks in camp for fights that never happened, while stressing that he was not blaming anyone. Zuffa Boxing declined immediate comment to The Ring.

His own promotional company

The Newark, New Jersey, native is starting his own promotional company and says he is open to working with any promoter or network that is serious about his career. Lightweight (135 pounds) and junior welterweight (140), where he holds his title, remain his priorities. A move to welterweight could come in a year or two, on his own schedule.

An Olympic silver medallist at bantamweight in Rio in 2016, Stevenson turned pro with Top Rank and joined Matchroom in 2024. His recent fights under Eddie Hearn's banner were largely funded by Riyadh Season. In 2025 he defended his WBC lightweight title by stopping Josh Padley in the ninth round in Riyadh in February, then outpointing William Zepeda in New York in July.

For Zuffa Boxing it is a setback: Stevenson was its highest-profile signing, on a multi-fight deal. Eddie Hearn had called the model "weird" when the signing was first reported. The promotion still has Australian cruiserweight Jai Opetaia and Britain's Conor Benn on its roster. No next fight has been announced for Stevenson.