Shakur Stevenson Leaves Zuffa Boxing, Becomes Free Agent After Three Months

Shakur Stevenson is officially a promotional free agent again. The unbeaten four-division champion announced Monday that he requested and received his release from Zuffa Boxing just over three months after signing a multi-fight deal with the Dana White-led promotion. Stevenson said he had spent roughly eight weeks in camp preparing for fights he was told would happen, but no matchup materialized. He never fought under the Zuffa banner.

Stevenson said there is no bitterness over the split, but he now intends to take greater control of his career by starting his own promotional company while remaining open to co-promotions and working with other promoters and networks. The WBO and Ring junior welterweight champion said his immediate goal remains landing the biggest fights available at 135 or 140 pounds, with a move to welterweight possible in the next year or two.

The timing makes the breakup significant for both sides. Stevenson was one of Zuffa Boxing’s highest-profile signings when the deal was announced in July, but proposed bouts involving Devin Haney and other major names never came together. His exit puts one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound talents back on the open market and creates a major test for Stevenson’s new self-promotional strategy: turning freedom into the elite matchup that eluded him during his brief Zuffa run.