Eddie Hearn didn’t believe it at first. Now he is enjoying every minute of it.
Shakur Stevenson announced Monday that he had secured his release from Zuffa Boxing without fighting for the promotion. The Matchroom chairman told iFL TV he first assumed it was a stunt.
Unbelievable. I thought it was a publicity stunt, to be honest with you. Like, until Shakur’s team called me, messaged me last night, I thought it was all just some kind of stunt for an announcement, because it was so bad, so embarrassing, so humiliating for Zuffa, that I thought it can’t be real.
Like, how can you sign your most high-profile fighter, and then he leaves you without even fighting? I don’t think, in the history of boxing, that has ever happened.
Hearn and White have feuded for much of 2026 since Zuffa Boxing launched. Hearn took aim at White’s promises about the company’s body of work.
One thing I will give it to Zuffa: they have made history there by actually signing a fighter and never giving him a fight. So that’s some great body of work there.
But obviously, at the same time, you’ve got to be looking at it and smirking and going, ‘This is f—-ing easy work, baby.’ I mean, what is going on?
Hearn credited Devin Haney for going with DAZN instead and expects Stevenson to do the same.
Devin Haney is as smart as they come, because you know what? Something in his mind, something in his belly said, ‘This ain’t the move for me,’ and he went and done a deal with DAZN, and now Shakur Stevenson will probably do the same thing.
He also called on both fighters to get back in the ring.
Devin Haney has not boxed since November 2025. Shakur Stevenson has not boxed since January 2026. These are the pound-for-pound greats of the sport. Come on, boys, let’s get active. Let’s fight each other.
Hearn also brought up his former fighter Conor Benn, who lost to Ryan Garcia in September after signing with Zuffa.
Then you sign Conor Benn, get him smashed to pieces. You sign Shakur Stevenson, and you can’t even deliver him a fight.
Awful. Disaster. Monstrosity. Embarrassment. Capitulation. Capillary-busting. Blood pressure-rushing.
Zuffa Boxing is a joint venture between TKO and Saudi entertainment company Sela, backed by Turki Alalshikh, so it has the money to keep going. Hearn doesn’t expect it to go away, but he still warned fighters against signing there.
They’ll be back, but they’ve shown their true colors. They know nothing about boxing, they know nothing about developing the career of a fighter, and if you sign with Zuffa Boxing, you might as well get your legacy, rip it up, and put it in the bin.