Shakur Stevenson’s partnership with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing is over before he ever stepped into the ring for the promotion.
According to ESPN, the undefeated four-division champion announced that he’s officially a free agent after requesting his release from Zuffa Boxing, just three months after signing a multi-fight deal. Stevenson also revealed plans to launch his own promotional company, giving him more control over his career and future opponents.
“I requested to be released from Zuffa Boxing,” Stevenson said. “Now, over the weekend, my request has been granted, and now I am officially a free agent.”
The 29-year-old explained that he’d spent nearly two months training for fights that never materialized, though he declined to blame anyone.
“I’ve been in camp for like eight weeks, preparing for fights that I was told was going to happen and have not happened,” Stevenson said. “It is what it is. This is the business of boxing. I’m not mad at anyone, I’m not pointing fingers.”
The announcement follows weeks of uncertainty surrounding a potential showdown with WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney. The two recently traded accusations on social media after negotiations appeared to stall, with disagreements over the proposed weight becoming another point of contention.
Stevenson, however, isn’t interested in being rushed into another division.
“Everybody is pressing me to be a 147-pounder,” he said. “I will get there, but on my time and not on nobody else’s.”
White addressed the split at Saturday’s UFC 333 post-fight press conference, offering a different account of how it happened. “I offered him his release,” White said, adding that both sides ultimately agreed to part ways.
Stevenson’s decision comes at a significant point in his career. In January, he defeated Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden, capturing the WBO junior welterweight championship and becoming a four-division titleholder.
That victory also preceded a dispute with the WBC, which stripped Stevenson of his lightweight championship. Stevenson accused the organization of demanding a $100,000 sanctioning fee and publicly dismissed the decision.
“Take your belt, it don’t make me,” he wrote at the time.
With a 25-0 record and 11 knockouts, Stevenson now enters free agency with several potential opponents, including Haney, Ryan Garcia and a possible rematch against Lopez, who has since captured the WBA welterweight championship.
“The mission is still the same,” Stevenson said. “I want the biggest and best fights at 135 and 140 pounds.”