LOS ANGELES — Shakur Stevenson's time with Zuffa Boxing is over before it ever produced a fight.
The four-division champion announced Monday on his YouTube channel that he asked for his release and that it was granted over the weekend. Stevenson, 25-0 with 11 knockouts, signed a multi-fight deal in July that was reportedly worth well into eight figures. He has not fought since his unanimous decision win over Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in January.
Stevenson said he spent eight weeks in camp preparing for fights that never happened, but he made a point of saying he is not blaming anyone. "I am officially a free agent," he said. He also announced he is starting his own promotional company and will work with other promoters, or anyone else, as long as they are serious about his career. No new deal has been announced, but he did maintain that 135 and 140 pounds remain his priority, with 147 possible in a year or two, on his own timeline.
The split comes days after talks for a Devin Haney fight fell apart in public. Stevenson claimed on Friday that negotiations moved from 144 to 145 pounds before Haney's lawyer pushed for 147. Haney fired back on social media, saying he agreed to 145, that Stevenson went missing for days and tried to add a rehydration clause, and that he wasted six months negotiating. Zuffa still has Jai Opetaia and Conor Benn on its roster, among others.
Here is what stands out to me. Zuffa sold boxing on the idea that it could buy the best fighters and finally make the best fights. Three months and a reported eight-figure contract later, its biggest signing never stepped into the ring, and the fight fans wanted most, Stevenson against Haney, still has not come together. Zuffa does not even run a 140-pound division, which made his path to a fight murky from the start. Eddie Hearn, who promoted Stevenson before this, called the Zuffa approach a "weird model" back when the signing was rumored. Right now it is hard to argue he was wrong about this one.
Zuffa Boxing
Shakur Stevenson and manager J. Prince pose with Dana White and other Zuffa Boxing executives after Stevenson’s signing in July.
It is not all on Zuffa, either. Stevenson is 29, one of the best fighters on the planet, and has gone nine months without fighting while a deal stalled over a few pounds and a rehydration clause. Being great does nothing for you if you are not in the ring. Going the promoter route means he now owns the problem of getting fights made, and the same names who would not budge on the scale will not get easier to deal with because he has a company logo.
The real question is who steps up. Whoever lands Stevenson, or works with him as a partner, gets the most talked about free agent in the sport. Whether he finally gets a date on the calendar is the part boxing fans have been waiting on since January.