Shakur Stevenson joins Zuffa Boxing in the promotion's biggest signing yet
Michael Huezo
Host · Writer
Shakur Stevenson has signed with Zuffa Boxing, and the timing tells its own story. The deal was announced Thursday, minutes after the press conference for Teofimo Lopez and Rolly Romero's PBC card on DAZN wrapped up, an unmistakable bit of counter-programming from Dana White and Zuffa.
Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) is the biggest name Zuffa Boxing has landed since launching, a four-division world champion who just dismantled Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision in January to win the WBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight titles. He joins a roster that already includes Conor Benn, Jai Opetaia, Richardson Hitchins and Edgar Berlanga, but none of those signings carried the weight of adding a fighter widely considered a top-three pound-for-pound talent in the sport.
“Shakur is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” White said in a statement. “He's 29 years old, undefeated and already a four-division world champion. This is a massive signing for Zuffa Boxing, and I'm looking forward to promoting this next fight.”
Stevenson sounded just as confident about what comes next. “Line them up, one by one, and I'll beat all the top guys once I get them in front of me,” he said. “With Zuffa Boxing, I'm going to go after the biggest fights in the sport and I will become the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
That statement is where things get complicated. Zuffa Boxing does not currently run a 140-pound division, which raises the obvious question of how Stevenson's next fight actually gets made. Given the promotion's strained relationship with the sanctioning bodies, he is expected to vacate the WBO belt he just won over Lopez, a fourth title surrendered not because he lost it in the ring but because the new promotional model does not build around traditional weight-class ladders.
That's also why Stevenson has been careful to separate his goals from the undisputed chase. “I'm not really thinking of undisputed,” he told Andreas Hale. “I just want to fight the biggest fights. I want to fight the guys that the fans want to see me fight.” Under Zuffa's model, that framing makes sense. The promotion has leaned on marquee matchups and catchweight showdowns rather than mandatory defenses and sanctioning fees, and Stevenson made clear he sees that as the appeal. “Now that I'm with Zuffa, we can make any fight happen,” he said in a promotional clip released after the signing. “There are no restrictions. Boxing ain't the same anymore. Zuffa is about the best fighting the best. So, let's do it.”
The most likely version of Stevenson's next fight already has a name attached to it: Devin Haney. The two have exchanged words publicly for months, and there is real momentum behind a meeting at a 144-pound catchweight bout. One thing is for sure, Shakur has repeatedly said that he is not willing to give Devin Haney a meeting at 147.
Not everyone is convinced the model holds up. Eddie Hearn, who promoted Stevenson as recently as the Lopez fight, has been openly skeptical of how Zuffa plans to build fights around its biggest names. Hearn has pointed out that Zuffa is paying fighters roughly five times the going market rate, then asked the obvious follow-up: who exactly is on the other side of the ring.
Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, the former WBA super lightweight champion who is already on Zuffa's roster, wasted no time putting himself in the conversation. “Let's make this fight happen,” Valenzuela posted on Threads, tagging Dana White directly. “I have everything it takes to shock the world.” Valenzuela is coming off a June knockout rematch win over Edwin De Los Santos, and his campaign shows how quickly Zuffa's existing fighters are angling to get in the ring with its newest star.
What's clear is that White timed this to dominate the news cycle, and it worked. Stevenson is now the centerpiece of a promotion trying to prove it can do more than buy names.
