By: Sean Crose
Some argue he’s the best fighter in the world at the moment. Whether or not that’s true there’s no doubt that Shakur Stevenson is one of the most highly regarded proponents of today’s fight game. Dana White and his burgeoning Zuffa Boxing certainly thinks Stevenson is a legit star of the sweet science. That’s why he just signed Stevenson to his company. This is big news in that it unofficially makes Zuffa one of the major players in boxing. Big names are one thing – names like Shakur Stevenson are another thing entirely. Zuffa is now among the sport’s big boys.
“Shakur is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” said White, via Sky Sports. “He’s 29 years old, undefeated and already a four-division world champion. This is a massive signing.” Stevenson himself is quite pleased with the arrangement. “Line them up, one by one,” he said, “and I’ll beat all the top guys once I get them in front of me.” What’s more, the New Jersey native, who has undoubtedly just earned himself a massive sum of money, is oozing with confidence. “With Zuffa Boxing,” he said, “I’m going to go after the biggest fights in the sport, and I will become the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
Although Stevenson is clearly happy to be aligned with him, the brash White is a controversial figure – not only in boxing, but also in the UFC, where he has seemingly ruled supreme for years. If there was a word that may well describe White it might be aggressive – aggressive in opinion, aggressive in ambition and aggressive in presentation (he always looks as if he wouldn’t know what a suit was if you asked him). He’s also said to have treated his UFC fighters in a less than stellar fashion at times.
It’s doubtful Stevenson will have a lot to complain about regarding his paychecks. Say what one will about White but he’s a keen man. Boxing isn’t mixed martial arts – something White is no doubt keenly aware of. Boxers of the highest order bring in mountains of cash. With few exceptions, that’s not true of the UFC. White has long wanted to be a big part of the boxing world, however, and it’s clear at this point he’s going to adjust his business style to become more palatable to the sport’s top stars.
And then what? It’s hard to tell, really. Boxing is nothing if not enigmatic and seemingly forever in flux. It’s hard to imagine White turning the entire sport of boxing into his fiefdom, as he’s arguably done with mixed martial arts. MMA is big, but boxing truly is global. Unlike the UFC, boxing has a trillion pieces all moving at once. Furthermore, White isn’t the only true power player in boxing. Unlike the UFC, there’s other players in the game who are essentially as powerful as White himself now is. One gets the feeling White is going to want to play niece if he truly wants to be a sweet science power player.
None of this really matters to Shakur, of course, at least at the present time. He’s going to get paid a mint to ply a trade he’s mastered. Whether Zuffa rises or falls, Stevenson will remain a hot property as long as he keeps winning in high fashion, as he did against Teofimo Lopez earlier this year. And that is notable at this time – White can’t wield the kind of power in boxing as he has in the UFC. There’s too many boxers and promotional entities for that to be the case. Should White be aware of this like he most likely is, he may well do quite well in the venerable sport of boxing.
Shakur Stevenson certainly seems to think he will.
