Stevenson had yet to fight for the promotion after joining in August
Shakur Stevenson has parted ways with Zuffa Boxing just three months after signing a high-profile multi-fight agreement with the organization, abruptly ending an alliance that was initially heralded as a major shift in the sport’s promotional landscape.
The 29-year-old pound-for-pound standout and reigning four-division world champion announced the development on Monday through a video published to his personal YouTube channel, confirming that he requested and received his contractual release over the weekend. The decision returns Stevenson to free agency without having made a single walk to the ring under the Zuffa Boxing banner, while marking the beginning of an independent venture in which he plans to launch his own promotional company and chart his own promotional course.
Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), who captured the WBO junior welterweight championship in January with a commanding, one-sided decision against Teofimo Lopez Jr., indicated that growing inactivity and unfulfilled fight arrangements were the primary catalysts behind the sudden split. Despite spending considerable time in active preparation, contractual agreements failed to materialize, prompting the Newark, New Jersey native to seek an immediate exit.
"I’ve been in camp for like eight weeks preparing for fights I was told was going to happen," Stevenson said in the video announcement. "It has not happened but, it is what it is, this is the business of boxing. I’m not mad at anyone. I’m not pointing no fingers but upon all of these issues and things that have been going on, I’ve requested to be released from Zuffa Boxing. Now, over the weekend, my request has been granted and I’m officially a free agent."
Stevenson emphasized that his decision was not driven by personal acrimony toward Zuffa Boxing or its leadership, framing the separation instead as a necessary professional maneuver designed to protect his prime competitive years. Having entered camp under the expectation that an assignment was imminent, enduring two months of rigorous physical preparation without a locked date or finalized opponent proved unsustainable for a fighter looking to capitalize on his momentum at the championship level.
Rather than remaining on the shelf while promotional logistics were sorted out, Stevenson chose to reclaim his contractual autonomy. With the release granted, the undefeated champion announced that he is pivoting toward full self-determination by establishing his own promotional outfit, aiming to control his dates, platform distribution, and opponent selection directly.
"This time out, I want to tell the fans and everybody that’s in the public that I am now taking my career in my own hands and I’m starting my own promotional company and I’m willing to work with other promoters and anyone else that’s out there who is willing to be serious with my career as I am," Stevenson said. "I’m just excited to be in this position. I’m just excited to be starting a new journey and the mission is still the same. I want the biggest and best fights available at 135 or 140 pounds, where I hold my title. It doesn’t matter the name, it doesn’t matter who you put in front of me. None of these guys can beat me."
The dissolution of the Zuffa Boxing deal arrives on the heels of high-stakes, public negotiations for a marquee showdown against undefeated welterweight champion Devin Haney. The two elite American stars engaged in extensive discussions for a proposed blockbuster bout that was targeted for an intermediate catchweight of 145 pounds.
However, those negotiations collapsed late last week following a series of contentious public exchanges across social media. A fundamental point of friction during the dialogue centered on the weight limit, with pressure mounting on Stevenson to move past the proposed 145-pound catchweight and step up directly to the full 147-pound welterweight limit where Haney holds championship status.
Stevenson addressed that specific dispute directly in his video, making it clear that he will not allow external expectations or rival camps to dictate his physical timeline or push him into divisions before his body is properly acclimated. Having only stepped up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division earlier this year, Stevenson underscored that a move to 147 pounds remains on his long-term roadmap, but exclusively according to his own schedule.
"Everybody is just pressing me to be a 147-pounder," Stevenson said. "I will get there but on my time and not on nobody else’s [time]."
Stevenson added that he anticipates needing another one to two years of development and competition at junior welterweight before he considers permanently transitioning to the full welterweight division. For the immediate future, his competitive focus remains squarely centered on defending his WBO title at 140 pounds or entertaining lucrative opportunities down at the 135-pound lightweight limit, where he previously held championship hardware and built much of his pound-for-pound reputation.
The abrupt conclusion of Stevenson’s relationship with Zuffa Boxing represents the latest chapter in what has become an extraordinarily fluid promotional journey over the last two years. A 2016 Olympic silver medalist, Stevenson turned professional in 2017 under the long-term promotional stewardship of Bob Arum’s Top Rank, guided outside the ring by veteran manager and rap music mogul James Prince.
During his seven-year run with Top Rank, Stevenson developed from a heralded prospect into a three-division world champion, picking up major belts at featherweight (126 pounds), junior lightweight (130 pounds), and lightweight (135 pounds). Stevenson fulfilled his contractual obligations with Top Rank and elected to test the open market as a free agent in 2024.
His initial foray into promotional free agency saw him sign with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport. That relationship, however, proved brief, concluding after just a single fight. Stevenson then shifted his alignment toward Saudi Arabian adviser and financier Turki Alalshakh, partnering with the influential backer for his subsequent two ring appearances. That stretch culminated in January, when Stevenson delivered one of the signature technical masterclasses of his career by outboxing Teofimo Lopez Jr. over twelve rounds to secure the WBO 140-pound championship, confirming his status as a four-division titleholder.
When Zuffa Boxing announced the signing of Stevenson to a multi-fight promotional pact in August, the move was widely viewed as a bold declaration of intent from the organization, instantly providing the outfit with one of the most gifted, accomplished, and defensively brilliant boxers of his era. Yet the partnership ultimately unraveled before it could produce its inaugural event, succumbing to the familiar promotional stalemates, matchmaking difficulties, and scheduling hurdles that frequently disrupt modern prizefighting.
By launching his own promotional company, Stevenson joins a select group of modern championship fighters who have opted to bypass traditional long-term exclusive promotional agreements in favor of self-representation. With the managerial guidance of Prince still in his corner, Stevenson’s new structure is intended to give him the agility to negotiate on a fight-by-fight basis, partnering with existing promoters, rival networks, and independent financiers without being bound to an exclusive house roster.
Stevenson enters this new phase of his career holding significant leverage as an undefeated four-division champion in his physical prime. With his refusal to rush up to 147 pounds established and his contractual ties to Zuffa Boxing officially severed, the focus shifts entirely to which rival promoters and contenders are prepared to meet the 29-year-old champion at 135 or 140 pounds on his own terms.
