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Stevenson was reported Thursday to be finalizing an agreement with Zuffa, while Haney has continued fueling speculation about an enormous recent promotional deal after recent comments from his father, Bill Haney.<\/p>\n
If each fighters land with Zuffa, they might join a growing stable that already includes Conor Benn and Richardson Hitchins.<\/p>\n
That might immediately create several potential in-house matchups able to generating major attention without the promotional roadblocks that usually delay big boxing fights.<\/p>\n
The report from Mannix on Friday is the strongest confirmation yet that Dana White is shifting from signing prospects and gatekeepers to collecting elite, prime-age champions. If Shakur Stevenson finalizes this move, it effectively ends the \u201cpromotional purgatory\u201d he\u2019s been in since leaving Top Rank.<\/p>\n
Zuffa is rapidly constructing a 140 to 147-pound gauntlet that appears like a UFC division. By securing Shakur, they aren\u2019t just getting a technician; they\u2019re getting a fighter who recently dominated Teofimo Lopez in January and holds the WBO and Ring Magazine titles at junior welterweight.<\/p>\n
The Zuffa \u201cShark Tank\u201d at 140-147 lbs<\/strong><\/p>\nThe roster is becoming incredibly top-heavy with talent that has struggled to get big fights made under the old guard:<\/p>\n
\nShakur Stevenson:<\/strong> The technical floor of the division and a sitting champion.<\/li>\nDevin Haney:<\/strong> If that $100 million deal is real, he becomes the centerpiece. He\u2019s already a three-division champ after taking the WBO welterweight belt from Brian Norman Jr. in November.<\/li>\nConor Benn:<\/strong> The \u201cmotion\u201d fighter of the group who brings massive UK eyes and a $15 million price tag.<\/li>\nRichardson Hitchins:<\/strong> The high-IQ operator who just signed and is already calling for a Haney fight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe Latest Reality for Haney vs. Shakur<\/h2>\n The \u201cU will see\u201d post from Haney is beginning to appear to be a warning to the remainder of the industry. For years, promoters protected these two from one another because a loss would \u201ckill their value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the Zuffa\/TKO structure, which is bankrolled by Saudi capital and headed by Nick Khan and Dana White, that protectionism normally disappears. They operate on the \u201cLeague\u201d model, where the perfect are forced into an in-house tournament.<\/p>\n
Key Aspects in a Potential Matchup<\/strong><\/p>\nGuaranteed Purses:<\/strong> Shakur reportedly turned down $60 million for 3 fights in March, but Mannix indicates the brand new \u201cguaranteed money\u201d was an excessive amount of to disregard. This implies the Zuffa offers are eclipsing anything Matchroom or PBC can realistically put up.<\/p>\nSanctioning Body Politics:<\/strong> Zuffa has already shown they don\u2019t mind their fighters being stripped (like Jai Opetaia or Richardson Hitchins) because they’re constructing their very own \u201cZuffa Championship\u201d brand. Nevertheless, for a Haney-Shakur fight, they could \u201cplay ball\u201d with the WBO just to maintain the undisputed prestige attached.<\/p>\nThe Style Clash:<\/strong> You could have two of the perfect defensive minds in the game. Previously, no network desired to pay $20 million+ each for a \u201ctrack meet.\u201d But with a $100 million investment in Haney, Zuffa is clearly betting on the \u201cMayweather\u201d business model\u2014selling the \u201cunbeatable\u201d aura reasonably than simply the highlights.<\/p>\nThe potential of these 4 squaring off is probably the most significant development in the game since it signals the tip of the \u201cSanctioning Body Era\u201d and the beginning of the \u201cLeague Era.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Zuffa follows the UFC blueprint, they won\u2019t care about \u201cprotecting an O.\u201d They\u2019ll care in regards to the Zuffa Boxing Championship and the live gates at Allegiant Stadium or the Sphere. Here is how that four-way landscape likely shakes out:<\/p>\n
1. The \u201cFace of the League\u201d Matchup: Haney vs. Shakur
The Logic: You don\u2019t pay that sort of money for tune-ups. That is the \u201chigh-IQ\u201d mega-fight. Since Shakur just beat Teofimo Lopez in January and Haney recently took the WBO welterweight belt, this might likely be for the inaugural Zuffa Undisputed title at 147.<\/p>\n
The Hurdle: Each are defensive masters. Zuffa might pair them with aggressive \u201cdance partners\u201d first to construct the highlight reels before putting them in with one another.<\/p>\n
2. The Collision Course: Richardson Hitchins vs. Devin Haney
The Narrative: Hitchins is the \u201cpurist\u2019s favorite\u201d who just vacated his IBF belt to hitch Zuffa. It is a perfect \u201cin-house\u201d rivalry.<\/p>\n
The Strategy: Dana White loves a storyline. If Hitchins keeps calling out the \u201c$100 million man,\u201d Zuffa could easily market this because the \u201cBattle of the Technicians.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. The \u201cMotion\u201d Bridge: Conor Benn
The Wildcard: Benn is coming off an enormous $15 million payday against Regis Prograis and a fresh five-fight extension.<\/p>\n
The Matchup: Benn vs. Shakur is probably the most intriguing \u201cclash of styles.\u201d It\u2019s the classic \u201cBull vs. Matador.\u201d Mannix even hinted at this as a possible Las Vegas stadium headliner for late 2026.<\/p>\n
Why Mismatches are Unlikely<\/h2>\n Zuffa\u2019s business model is built on Subscription and PPV value. To justify the large Saudi investment (rumored to be 60% of the enterprise), they need \u201cEvent-Driven\u201d cards.<\/p>\n
Internal Rankings: Expect Zuffa to release their very own rankings soon. If Haney is #1 and Shakur is #2, the league structure makes it almost inconceivable for them to avoid one another for years.<\/p>\n
No More \u201cMarinating\u201d: Within the old guard, promoters apprehensive a couple of loss, \u201ckilling\u201d a fighter\u2019s value. In a league, a loss just means a \u201crematch\u201d or a \u201ccomeback trail\u201d narrative, exactly just like the UFC.<\/p>\n
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Tom Reynolds<\/strong> is a boxing analyst covering major fights and profession turning points, with a deal with performance, trajectory, and long-term implications.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\nBoxing News 24 \u00bb <\/span>Conor Benn \u00bb <\/span>Zuffa Boxing Could Construct Major In-House Fights Around Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney<\/span><\/p>\n<\/nav>\nLast Updated on 2026\/05\/09 at 2:10 AM <\/small>\t<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zuffa Boxing could suddenly find itself with one among boxing\u2019s deepest collections of talent between 140 and 147 kilos if reported talks with Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney result in official deals. Click Here To Watch Wardley vs. Dubois LIVE! Stevenson was reported Thursday to be finalizing an agreement with Zuffa, while Haney has continued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[2471,735,7792,8611,7750,13651,944,14011,11021,41997],"class_list":["post-331812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-boxing","tag-build","tag-devin","tag-fights","tag-haney","tag-inhouse","tag-major","tag-shakur","tag-stevenson","tag-zuffa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331812"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331815,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331812\/revisions\/331815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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