Shakur Stevenson’s stunning departure from Zuffa Boxing without a single fight has taken away all the accolades in boxing over the past week.
Neither Stevenson nor anyone connected to Zuffa offered details about the reasons for Stevenson’s dismissal after it was announced on Monday. James “J” Prince, Stevenson’s longtime manager, finally spoke to the media for the first time on Friday.
Advertisement
The FightHubTV CEO explained:
“We don’t want to move forward with relationships and situations where people honor their word and keep their word. It’s important to us.”
“We had a contract, so purses and different things came together pretty much. It was just getting the opponent. I think a lot of time was spent on the wrong opponent, which was Devin Haney.
“I think Devin wanted the fight, I think Bill [Haney] he did not want to fight. And I think it’s a way to sabotage the fight. It’s interesting how you hear all the lies and beliefs that people have about the fact, but the reality is exactly what I just said.”
Stevenson, the reigning WBO super lightweight champion and crowned No. 4 heavyweight champion, claimed on social media that he broke up the deal to face Haney at the 11th hour, as Haney insisted he would only fight at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, instead of the agreed 145-pound catchweight.
Shakur Stevenson signed with Dana White Zuffa Boxing in July.
(Ed Mulholland via Getty Images)
Haney responded by refuting the claim and saying that he had agreed to 145 pounds, but Stevenson then attempted to impose a rehydration clause on him as well, which he refused to accept.
Said the prince:
“This is part of the lie that is said – no [rehydration] clauses We agree at 145 [pounds]and Shakur was training to fight. I was told that Devin was training for the fight. But, as you see, at any rate, at 11 o’clock or whatever it was, ‘Oh now we want to fight.’ So, I don’t think he wanted a fight.
‘Devin,’ I think he said; [but] I don’t think Bill ever liked the fight – and he set out to stop it.
“We had several fighters in our contract that we were focused on, but Devin was the target for some reason. That’s not a target, we don’t want to move forward with him.”
When Stevenson signed with Zuffa Boxing, he understood that he would take fights from 135 to 147 pounds. When Stevenson stated that his goal was to stay at 135 or 140 pounds, rather than immediately moving to welterweight, Zuffa tried to make him fight at 140 pounds, but was unable to finalize a viable match.
Advertisement
After failed talks with several fighters, including Haney, Stevenson’s future was no longer at stake with Zuffa’s next plan, and so the promotion was content to grant his release request.
Reports surfaced Monday after the announcement of Stevenson’s dismissal that he was offered $7 million to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela in January, but asked for $15 million instead. The prince vehemently denied that Valenzuela had ever discussed fighting with him.
Stevenson’s departure from the Dana White promotion was thought to be “mutual”, although Stevenson has since resisted a video of former promoter Eddie Hearn lambasting Zuffa Boxing and “failing” to keep up with the fighter’s weight.