Shakur Stevenson Is a Free Agent: He Asked Out of Zuffa, and Got It, Without Ever Fighting for Them

Three months. Eight weeks of camp. Zero fights. That's the whole story of Shakur Stevenson and Zuffa Boxing, and as of this weekend, it's over.

Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) said Monday on his YouTube channel that he asked to be released from his promotional contract with Zuffa Boxing and that the request was granted over the weekend. He's a free agent, and he says he's starting his own promotional company.

"I've been in camp for eight weeks preparing for fights I was told would happen but have not happened," Stevenson said, per The Ring. "It is what it is, this is the business of boxing, I'm not mad at anyone, but I requested to be released from Zuffa Boxing and over the weekend my request was granted."

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He added that he's "willing to work with other promoters that are willing to be serious about my career" and is open to co-promoting and working with any of the networks.

Remember, this was supposed to be one of the big signings. Zuffa, the company led by Dana White and Turki Alalshikh, brought Stevenson aboard in July. He hasn't fought since he beat Teofimo Lopez on Jan. 31 at Madison Square Garden to win The Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles and become a four-division champion. That's almost nine months of inactivity for a fighter widely rated among the best pound-for-pound in the sport.

The fight that was supposed to end the drought was Devin Haney, and you know how that went. The two sides couldn't agree on weight or a rehydration clause, and it fell apart in public (here's how it died on the scale). The Ring also reports that talks with WBA 140-pound champion Gary Antuanne Russell never got anywhere. After Haney, Dan Rafael reported Zuffa was eyeing a Jan. 23 homecoming at Newark's Prudential Center (our report). Whatever happens to that date, Shakur won't be headlining it for Zuffa.

So what does he want now? "I want the biggest fights available at 135 pounds or 140 pounds, where I hold my title," he said. Welterweight is coming, he says, but not yet. "Give it a year or two, we'll get to 147 pounds," Stevenson said. "I will get there, but on my time, not on anyone else's. I'll be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter soon."

Here's the thing. Losing a fighter like this without putting him in the ring once isn't a great look for a company trying to sell itself as boxing's next big promoter. But it's not a free lunch for Shakur either. Being your own promoter means you're the one who has to make the fights happen, and plenty of people in this sport have been waiting a long time to see him in a fight that actually moves the needle.

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There are names out there. WBC 140-pound champ Dalton Smith has already said he wants him (more on that), though Smith has to get through Alberto Puello first on Saturday in Sheffield. If you think you know how that one ends, make your Boxbid fight prediction and guess the rounds for free points. Whoever wins becomes a pretty interesting phone call for Shakur's new company.

Sources: Stevenson's statement on his YouTube channel, as reported by The Ring and World Boxing News, Oct. 19, 2026.