Shakur Stevenson discusses decision to sign with Zuffa Boxing: ‘There is no hiding’
By Eddie Sanchez
The undefeated WBO junior welterweight titleholder, Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) made a huge splash in the free-agent market by becoming the biggest signing to date for TKO and Dana White’s upstart Zuffa Boxing, which debuted in January and is funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its entertainment chairman, Turki Alalshikh.
The terms of the deal were not made public, but Shakur Stevenson was all smiles when asked about the financial terms.
“It feels so good because I came so far,” Stevenson said. “A lot of people have gone against me throughout my career. A lot of people told me I wouldn’t be in this situation. Now, they have to sit there and watch. I enjoy making these people who went against me suffer.”
Stevenson credits his sublime performance against Lopez, which took place in a January pay-per-view main event inside New York’s Madison Square Garden, with setting the stage for the Zuffa deal.
“I think [in] my last fight, I kind of proved myself to be one of the best fighters on the planet,” Stevenson said. “The way that I fought that night, Zuffa kind of saw it, and they hit me up. They knew they had to get one of the faces of boxing to come out and show them how great I am. They are going to give me the opportunity — their vision is big, just like mine. I just can’t wait to show it again and again and again and again.”
Richardson Hitchins is also a Zuffa fighter and would be an interesting opponent, though rumors are circulating that Devin Haney may soon follow Shakur to that side of the promotional street.
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