{"id":939514,"date":"2026-10-20T02:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T02:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939514\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T02:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T02:24:16","slug":"shakur-stevenson-wont-be-fighting-for-zuffa-boxing-after-all-i-requested-to-be-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939514\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson won&#8217;t be fighting for Zuffa Boxing after all: &#8220;I requested to be released&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Trending:<a class=\"exactmetrics-inline-popular-posts-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bjpenn.com\/mma-news\/ufc\/gable-steveson-dealing-with-mental-block-since-winning-gold-medal-says-henry-cejudo-hes-just-not-finishing-the-job-after-the-olympics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gable Steveson dealing with mental block since winning gold medal, says Henry Cejudo: \u201cHe\u2019s just not finishing the job after the Olympics\u201d<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Shakur-Stevenson-has-been-granted-his-release-from-Zuffa-Boxing-without-fighting-for-the-promotion-1.jpeg\" class=\"nlz w-full h-auto wp-post-image\" alt=\"Shakur Stevenson has been granted his release from Zuffa Boxing without fighting for the promotion\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   data-eio=\"p\"\/>TKO Worldwide<\/p>\n<p>Shakur Stevenson\u2019s time with Zuffa Boxing has ended before he even got a chance to fight for the promotion.<\/p>\n<p>Back in July, it was announced that Steveson had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjpenn.com\/mma-news\/dana-white\/dana-white-shares-hilarious-reaction-to-ufc-329-production-botch-involving-shakur-stevenson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion<\/a> led by UFC CEO Dana White. It was Zuffa Boxing\u2019s biggest signing to date, and many felt it opened the door for the WBO junior welterweight champion to have a long-awaited clash with Devin Haney.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, talks between Stevenson and Haney have broken down, and it may have led to Zuffa Boxing granting Stevenson\u2019s request for a release. In a video uploaded on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bROlvfaVUpo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">YouTube channel<\/a>, the undefeated star revealed his split from the promotion is now official (h\/t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmafighting.com\/boxing\/516658\/shakur-stevenson-secures-release-from-zuffa-boxing-without-having-fought-for-promotion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">MMAFighting<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been working my ass off,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cStaying focused, staying in shape. 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 but look, it is what it is. This is the business of boxing. I\u2019m not mad at anyone, I\u2019m not pointing no fingers, but upon all of these issues and things that\u2019s been going on, I requested to be released from Zuffa Boxing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, over the weekend, my request has been granted and I am officially a free agent. This time, I want to tell the fans and tell everybody that\u2019s in the public that I 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<\/p>\n<p>Stevenson is a big name back on the market, but after the Haney talks fizzled out, many are wondering just how lucrative his next fight can be. Regardless, expect the likes of Eddie Hearn\u2019s Matchroom Boxing to try to make a play for the WBO champion.<\/p>\n<p>What do you make of Shakur Stevenson leaving Zuffa Boxing? Sound off in the comments below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-1 mt-0 os-source\">This article appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjpenn.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BJPENN.COM<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trending:Gable Steveson dealing with mental block since winning gold medal, says Henry Cejudo: \u201cHe\u2019s just not finishing the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-939514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939514","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=939514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}