Eddie Hearn called Shakur Stevenson leaving Zuffa Boxing an outright embarrassment, but he skipped over the core financial question. How much money was Zuffa supposed to put up for the matchups Shakur demanded?
Hearn openly questioned how any promoter could lock down an elite talent, only to let him walk without staging a single fight.
“How can you sign your most high-profile fighter and then he leaves you without even fighting?” Hearn said to iFL TV about Shakur.
Optically, that hurts Zuffa. Still, it does not mean holding onto Shakur made sound business sense.
Reporter Sean Zittel reported that Shakur sought at least $15 million per outing, even for a bout against Rayo Valenzuela, with an even steeper price tag for Devin Haney. Those numbers matter when evaluating what ended this partnership.
Hearn praised Shakur for walking away, hinting he could join Haney over at DAZN.
“Of course we’re going to dine out on it, aren’t we? Because they would do the same thing,” Hearn admitted.
The real test is whether Matchroom can satisfy that reported price tag. If Shakur sticks to those demands, Hearn faces the exact math problem Zuffa chose to avoid.
Bringing up Conor Benn’s paydays misses the point. Benn commands a massive following across Britain. Shakur has not shown that kind of commercial pull in America. Pure ring skill does not automatically generate the ticket sales needed to justify a $15 million purse before covering the opponent’s guarantee or card production.
Zuffa letting him walk says plenty about where they drew the line. The promotion simply decided the cost outweighed the return. Until contract paperwork surfaces, neither party holds the full truth.
Hearn can celebrate a rival stumbling all he wants. Actually signing Shakur fight by fight takes serious cash. If that $15 million asking price stands, someone has to absorb that risk, and Hearn hasn’t explained how he plans to make the numbers work.
