Undefeated boxing superstar Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) signed a multi-year, multi-fight deal with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing in July 2026. The undefeated four-division world champion was the promotion’s most decorated signing. However, just three months later, he requested his official release and was granted it without ever fighting a single time under the Zuffa banner.
Following his shocking departure, Stevenson revealed that he had spent consecutive weeks in training camp preparing for high-profile bouts that ultimately failed to materialize. Eddie Hearn, a longtime rival promoter who openly doubted Zuffa’s business model from the start, stated that Stevenson’s abrupt exit completely exposes how badly the deal fell apart.
Eddie Hearn Calls Shakur Stevenson’s Exit Embarrassing for Dana White
The Matchroom Boxing chairman told iFL TV that he initially mistook the news of the split for a publicity stunt, until Stevenson’s team contacted him directly. He argued that no promoter has ever lost their biggest signing and a pound-for-pound great before the fighter even boxed for them.
Reports from journalist Sean Zittel explain the financial disagreement that froze the deal. Sources say Stevenson initially agreed to a $15 million payout to fight Devin Haney. Later, he changed his terms and demanded a guaranteed $15 million for every fight, regardless of who the opponent was.
Zuffa Boxing could not afford those numbers. As a result, Stevenson turned down a $7 million offer to fight Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela in Newark, as well as another $7 million offer for a December fight. He chose to sit out until he received his demanded paycheck.
“Unbelievable, I thought it was a publicity stunt, to be honest with you… because it was so bad, so embarrassing, so humiliating for Zuffa…” Hearn stated. “How can you sign your most high-profile fighter, and then he leaves you without even fighting? I don’t think, in the history of boxing, that has ever happened. Tell me a time when a promoter has signed a pound-for-pound great, the biggest signing they’ve ever signed, and he has left before he’s even fought.”
Hearn also mocked Dana White’s prior pledge that Zuffa would build a historic body of work by year’s end. He noted that the promotion did technically make history by signing a world-class fighter and never giving him a single bout.
Stevenson joined Zuffa Boxing after a January unanimous decision victory over Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden. The win secured him the WBO, lineal, and Ring Magazine 140-pound titles, making him a four-division world champion. At the time of the signing, ESPN noted that Zuffa ran no 140-pound division and that Stevenson’s best potential opponents were signed to other promotional banners.
However, negotiations for a Haney fight never resulted in an official announcement. Stevenson said he is not angry with anyone and called the split a standard business move. He is currently a free agent and plans to start his own promotional company.
Hearn warned about these problems before Stevenson signed. Hearn called Zuffa’s strategy of paying fighters five times the market rate an unsustainable model that would fail.
Hearn had his own reasons for the rivalry, as Conor Benn unexpectedly left Matchroom to sign with Zuffa in February. Both promoters also continue to argue over White’s role in the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight set for Dec. 11 at Principality Stadium.
