Stevenson says boxing’s biggest names will have to face him, but fans continue debating whether a Zuffa deal could complicate those matchups
Shakur Stevenson says the biggest names in boxing will eventually have to deal with him, but many fans remain unconvinced. The debate has shifted beyond callouts and toward whether a Zuffa Boxing deal could make future fights with Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez harder to secure.
So much cap on my name everyday this is sick, Just know I’m with the shits and all these names yall talking will have to deal with me, I just pray yall bet against me when I catch up to them!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) June 2, 2026
The response was immediate.
One fan accused Stevenson of talking about major fights without taking steps to make them happen.
“The f***** point is when are you ??? You ran to zuffa to duck Shock ??? Did you not want the smoke with Devin wtf you waiting for the right time it makes sense mf fight now you trying to hard to keep that 0,” the critic wrote.
Shakur either truly doesn’t get it yet, or he is doing some masterful public relations damage control to keep his name in the mix with the division’s elite.
If Dana White runs Zuffa Boxing by the UFC playbook, a league-like format completely changes the game. In that world, you don’t call out Top Rank or Matchroom fighters because you are locked inside a closed ecosystem. The UFC doesn’t cross-promote with Bellator or PFL to make superfights, and they aren’t going to send their prized asset to fight on a rival network under a different promotional banner.
If Shakur genuinely thinks he can just collect a massive Zuffa paycheck and still easily land Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, or Teofimo Lopez, he is in for a rude awakening. Those promotional walls are thick, and Dana White isn’t known for playing nice with traditional boxing promoters.
Right now, Shakur is still talking like an independent contractor who can dictate his own path. But if Zuffa is building a league, he just traded that independence for a corporate structure. He might find himself trapped in a gilded cage, completely isolated from the very legacy-defining fights he claims to want.
If the UFC model is the blueprint, it guarantees financial security but risks total isolation from the broader boxing world. By the time he completes his service and realizes the massive cross-promotional fights are permanently off the table, the physical traits that made him a four-division champion might already be gone.