Shakur Stevenson reveals why he signed with Zuffa Boxing

Shakur Stevenson was a highly talented amateur, culminating in his winning an Olympic silver medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. After turning pro, his fighting style attracted plenty of criticism, but in recent fights, Shakur has progressed to one of the elite pound-for-pound fighters. He recently became a free agent, and the 29-year-old has now been confirmed as Zuffa Boxing’s latest signing. After the confirmation of his Zuffa deal, Stevenson spoke to Dan Rafael, revealing his honest reasons for moving to Zuffa.

Shakur Stevenson joins Zuffa Boxing

In the press release announcing the deal, Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) said: “Line them up, one by one, and I’ll beat all the top guys once I get them in front of me.”

“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,” added Shakur.

“Shakur is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” said UFC President Dana White in the same 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.”

To hear the whole interview with Dan and Shakur, please press the play button below.

Stevenson reflects on joining Zuffa

Shakur’s win over William Zepeda was impressive, but his win over Teofimo Lopez was most impressive, as he dominated almost every minute of the fight from the first until the last. Stevenson hasn’t fought since, but now he’s with Zuffa; the next fight announcement looks set to be confirmed soon, with a bout before the end of 2026 desired.

When talking to Dan Rafael, Stevenson was asked about what attracted him to Zuffa Boxing:

“For sure the money played a part. I enjoy being able to feed my family and just generational wealth. At the end of the day, it’s a lot of things that played a part when it came to signing with Zuffa. A fresh start. A lot of people haven’t made the move to sign with Zuffa yet, but with me being the next leader of the new school and trending, with what I am doing, I believe there will be a lot of people to follow my path also.

“Also, the big fights, I think that when I talked to Dana, and when I talked to Nick, it was more so about the big fights to come. And, the big fights that we wanted to get into. I think that’s one of the main things. I’ve been asking for all these big fights from all these promoters, and all of these places I’ve been, but nobody has yet got them done until Turki (Alalshikh) has been involved. 

“For me personally, I’m ready to put myself in the biggest and best availability fights possible, ready to show the world that under the bright lights that I am the best fighter in the sport of boxing.”

Stevenson is the current WBO super lightweight champion, but that weight class is not recognised by Zuffa. A move to welterweight looks the most likely for the Newark native. Shakur will seemingly have to vacate his 140-pound title now that he’s joined with Dana White and co. Stevenson is rightly spoken of among the elite, and only big fights appear on the menu for the 29-year-old.

Featured Image Credit:

Vicki Lewis / MSGE