Shakur Stevenson signs with Zuffa Boxing as Haney and Valenzuela options loom

Zuffa Boxing has announced the signing of Shakur Stevenson, bringing one of the sport’s leading pound-for-pound fighters into its expanding promotional operation. Stevenson, the unbeaten Ring and WBO 140-pound champion, is the company’s most significant addition so far.

The deal gives Zuffa a four-weight world champion at a point when the group is trying to establish itself around elite-level fights. Stevenson, 29, improved to 25-0 with 11 knockouts when he outpointed Teofimo Lopez on January 31 to win the Ring and WBO titles at 140 pounds, adding to previous title runs at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight.

“Line them up, one by one, and I’ll beat all the top guys once I get them in front of me,” Stevenson 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.”

Dana White, the UFC president and Zuffa Boxing co-founder, described the signing as a major step for the new company. “Shakur is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” White said in a press release. “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’s latest move follows a run in which he won and defended the WBC lightweight title before moving up for Lopez. His lightweight reign included a decision over Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant title in November 2023 and an entertaining points win over William Zepeda last July. After beating Lopez, Stevenson was stripped of the WBC lightweight belt because he refused to pay a six-figure sanctioning fee for a fight that was not contested in the division.

Haney and Valenzuela in frame

The signing immediately sharpens attention on a possible fight with Devin Haney, who has also been linked with Zuffa Boxing. Stevenson and Haney traded words on social media and agreed in early June to a 144-pound catchweight, though Bill Haney confirmed last week that Stevenson had not responded to a contract sent for the proposed fight.

Haney, unbeaten with one no-contest and currently the WBO welterweight champion, has also been ordered by the WBO to face Keyshawn Davis. The sides were given July 20 to reach a deal before purse bids, while Bill Haney has said his son is seeking either Stevenson or Davis in the autumn.

Stevenson has insisted the Zuffa deal will not restrict his options. “I can make any fight that I want in the sport of boxing,” Stevenson said on The Ring’s YouTube channel. “There’s no restrictions. It’s no, I can’t fight this guy. Boxing is not the same no more. Boxing is a lot different. The critics got to get past thinking in the old mindset. With the new mindset, it’s the best fighting the best, and I’m all for it. I think Zuffa is all for it too, so let’s do it.”

On Haney, Stevenson added: “Devin is a tremendous fighter. He’s tremendous at what he does. I’m way better than him as a fighter, in my opinion, but if it comes across my table, I’m down to fight whoever and whenever.”

Jose Valenzuela is another name already pressing for the assignment. The former 140-pound titleholder, who is signed with Zuffa Boxing, called for Stevenson after stopping Edwin De Los Santos in the second round of their June 28 rematch in Las Vegas, avenging an earlier defeat. Valenzuela has had two lightweight bouts with the promotion, having also beaten Diego Torres on points on February 1, and argued after the De Los Santos win that his style as a “real fighter” would be the “kryptonite” for Stevenson, whom he described as a boxer.

The De Los Santos link adds a layer to that potential fight. Stevenson beat De Los Santos by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant WBC lightweight title, but it was one of the less fluent nights of his title career and remains a reference point for opponents who believe they can make him uncomfortable.

Stevenson has also acknowledged the scale of a possible Gervonta Davis fight, agreeing it would be a “generational super fight” and “the biggest fight in the sport.” Davis’s legal issue, inactivity and promotional ties, however, leave that matchup further away than the options already connected to Zuffa’s roster and current negotiations.

Zuffa Boxing stated that Stevenson’s first fight under the new contract will be announced in the coming weeks. The immediate focus now falls on whether the company moves first towards Valenzuela, waits for Haney’s WBO situation with Keyshawn Davis to develop, or uses Stevenson’s arrival to pursue a larger cross-promotional fight on one of Turki Alalshikh’s Ring cards.