{"id":939100,"date":"2026-10-19T18:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939100\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T18:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T18:24:10","slug":"shakur-stevenson-makes-shock-move-after-zuffa-boxing-plans-fall-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939100\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson Makes Shock Move After Zuffa Boxing Plans Fall Apart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shakur Stevenson<\/a> has left Zuffa Boxing just three months after signing a deal with the promotion, ending a short partnership without fighting under its banner. The undefeated four-division world champion announced the move in a YouTube video<\/a> on Monday, saying he had asked for his release after spending weeks preparing for fights that never happened. <\/p>\n

Stevenson confirmed that Zuffa Boxing granted his request over the weekend, leaving him free to negotiate with other promoters. Stevenson also plans to start his own boxing promotion, giving him more say over his future fights and career decisions. <\/p>\n

With a perfect 25-0 record, Stevenson remains focused on securing major fights at 135 or 140 pounds while keeping his long-term goal of becoming boxing\u2019s best pound-for-pound fighter.<\/p>\n

Shakur Stevenson Leaves Zuffa Boxing After Failed Fight Plans<\/p>\n

Stevenson said he spent around eight weeks in training camp preparing for fights he expected to take place, but those plans failed to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working my ass off, staying focused, staying in shape. But I\u2019ve been in camp for like eight weeks preparing for fights that I was told was going to happen, and it has not happened,\u201d Stevenson said.<\/p>\n

He added that he was not blaming anyone for the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is what it is. This is the business of boxing. I\u2019m not mad at anyone. I\u2019m not pointing no fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevenson said the problems led him to ask Zuffa Boxing to release him. Stevenson is now free to negotiate with other promoters after Zuffa Boxing approved his release over the weekend.<\/p>\n

The boxer signed a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing in July. UFC president Dana White and Turki Alalshikh co-founded the company. Stevenson praised the deal\u2019s financial terms and expected the partnership to help secure major fights.<\/p>\n

However, he never competed under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Reports said talks over possible fights involving Devin Haney and Gary Antuanne Russell stalled over issues including weight and rehydration clauses. Zuffa Boxing had not issued a public statement about his departure as of Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Shakur Stevenson Plans to Launch His Own Boxing Company<\/p>\n

Rather than sign another promotional deal immediately, Stevenson plans to establish his own company and work with promoters who share his goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am now taking my career in my own hands and I\u2019m starting my own promotional company, and I\u2019m willing to work with other promoters and anybody else that\u2019s out there that\u2019s willing to be serious about my career as I am about my career,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Stevenson will now choose how to plan his fights and which promoters and networks he works with. He also said he was open to co-promotional deals and partnerships with networks interested in working with him.<\/p>\n

Stevenson remains undefeated at 25-0, with 11 knockouts. Stevenson\u2019s most recent appearance came at Madison Square Garden on January 31, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Teofimo Lopez in the Ring 6 main event.<\/p>\n

The victory earned Stevenson the Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles, adding to his world titles at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight.<\/p>\n

Shakur Stevenson Targets Major Fights at 135 and 140 Pounds<\/p>\n

Stevenson said his immediate goal remains securing the biggest fights available at 135 or 140 pounds. He insisted that he was ready to face any opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter the name. It doesn\u2019t matter who you put in front of me. None of these guys can beat me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The champion also discussed a possible move to welterweight at 147 pounds in the next year or two. However, he stressed that he would make the move when he felt ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will get there, but on my term and not on nobody else\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevenson also repeated his ambition to become the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. He ended his video by thanking his supporters and promising to keep working toward that goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my people that trust and believe in my talent, I will not let y\u2019all down.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his release from Zuffa Boxing confirmed, Stevenson is now free to pursue fights through his new company and other promotional partners. His next steps will determine how he arranges the major matchups he wants at 135 and 140 pounds.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tDogli Wilberforce is a boxing writer for Sportsnaut, covering fight news, fighter reactions, and major bouts involving the sport\u2019s … More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson has left Zuffa Boxing just three months after signing a deal with the promotion, ending a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,14403,704,82,75400],"class_list":["post-939100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fights","tag-shakur-stevenson","tag-sports","tag-zuffa-boxing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}