Shakur Stevenson's Exit from Zuffa: The Other Side to the Story

Matchroom's Eddie Hearn has been unable to conceal his delight over the news that Zuffa's biggest signing, the pound-for-pounder, Shakur Stevenson had parted ways with Dana's White's organisation after just three months. They were unable to secure a single fight for him. He will now try his luck as a free agent under his own promotional banner.

Eddie Hearn is leading a pack of critics who say that Dana White doesn't know what he's doing in boxing, and should stick to UFC.

Zuffa entered boxing at the end of January with all-conquering ambitions. They said they would wipe out the competition. In fact, White said taking on the existing boxing promoters was "like beating up babies." He also planned to get rid of all the different world titles and replace them with a single Zuffa belt.

In practice, his conquest has not gone quite to plan. He's now been forced to work with the sanctioning bodies. Rival promoters like Oscar De La Hoya, Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren show no signs of going away, and his key signing, Shakur has deserted him.

There are some observers though, who say that losing Shakur is no big deal. High profile boxing YouTuber, Bruce Vane said Shakur may be undefeated, but he isn't really a star. Vane said both his boxing style and his personality are big turn-offs to the fans. He called him "annoying".

If that is true, then surely Zuffa should not have signed him up in the first place?

Vane also argued that the blame for fights not being made for Shakur sits squarely with the fighter himself, and not with Zuffa. Stevenson always wants to stack the cards in his favour by imposing difficult weight restrictions and dehydration clauses on champions in different divisions. Such was the case he said, with Devin Haney, who eventually said enough was enough and walked away. 

Again, this may be true, but it's hardly unusual behaviour for the "A" side in negotiations. But if Shakur's commercial value is less than he thinks it is, then potential opponents will be reluctant to make the sacrifices he's demanding. The money in the pot simply won't be worth it.

Zuffa asked to be judged on their body of work at the end of their first year in boxing. Garcia-Benn was their biggest event, and apparently the numbers were disappointing. So what else can they boast about? Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki? It was a good, entertaining scrap, but will hardly strike fear into the hearts of Hearn and Warren. 

Dana really needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat before the year is up. In particular, he will want to be seen to be playing a meaningful role in the Fury-AJ fight in December. If he appears to take ownership of that fight, he could yet end the year on a high.