Shakur Stevenson is giving Zuffa Boxing loads of negotiating drama whereas providing virtually no precise ring time. Devin Haney referred to as him out on social media, saying Shakur tried to slip a rehydration clause into their deal after already deciding on a 145-pound catchweight.
Months of back-and-forth have led nowhere, leaving the potential bout heading straight for the trash bin. Each guys have to stroll away. Followers are fully burned out on countless debates about struggle situations that by no means materialize.
“You’re cap.. I agreed to 145 u went lacking for days. Tried to place a rehydration clause on me. I wasted 6 months negotiating with you,” Haney stated on X. “I been negotiating with u since i used to be gonna signal to Zuffa. Yall did each factor for this struggle to not occur even tried to throw Keyshawn in my method.”
Stevenson countered by placing the blame totally on Haney for shifting the goalposts on the dimensions.
“On the eleventh hour, after agreeing to 144 after which 145, DeeHoe had his lawyer e-mail and say that he would solely struggle at 147. Large waste of all people’s time.”
If Haney is telling the reality, leaving the desk makes full sense. Slicing right down to 145 was already an enormous concession on his finish. Capping his fight-night restoration weight places him at a severe drawback, so Shakur can’t fake that was a part of the unique cut price.
Zuffa Boxing has to judge the return on this funding. The promotional outfit wants fighters able to lock in opponents, full camps, and produce stay occasions. Stevenson’s extended layoff, coupled with one other stalled negotiation cycle, provides the corporate virtually nothing to market.
In Dana White’s world, turning down names or holding out over morning weigh-in limits when thousands and thousands are on the desk will get a fighter sidelined or publicly roasted. Watching a flagship signing spend six months constructing a paper path of excuses as an alternative of lacing up towards stay our bodies at 140 needs to be driving him up the wall. If that is the return on funding Zuffa will get, Dana would possibly rapidly understand why boxing promoters have everlasting complications.
White constructed his complete empire on fighters who soar at short-notice calls, tackle whoever will get put in entrance of them, and go away the boardroom nonsense outdoors the cage. His complete mannequin runs on guys with that throwback, fight-anybody-anywhere angle, not divas haggling over two kilos on a scale for half a 12 months.
Zuffa’s transfer proper now must be sliding a contract throughout the desk for a reliable 140-pounder, whether or not that’s Richardson Hitchins on an in-house card, Ernesto Mercado, or one other high contender, with normal championship phrases and 0 particular catchweight carve-outs.
If Shakur indicators, Zuffa will get an precise stay occasion to broadcast and market. If he rejects it, Zuffa can merely sit on him. Promotional contracts sometimes embody clauses the place providing official bouts fulfills promotional obligations, and repeated refusals permit the corporate to freeze the deal or lengthen the time period with out paying purses.
Forcing Shakur to both take the subsequent stay physique put in entrance of him or sit on the shelf watching the remainder of the game transfer on is the one leverage Zuffa has left.
