After agreeing to a multi-fight promotional deal on July 9, Stevenson announced Monday that he and Zuffa Boxing mutually parted ways. His manager, J Prince, said the split largely resulted from the inability to land an opponent.

“We had a contract,” Prince told Fight Hub TV. “The purses and different things were pretty much agreed upon. It's just getting an opponent. I think a lot of time was spent on the wrong opponent, which was Devin Haney. … We no longer want to go down the road of focusing on this one guy, Devin, when there's other things to do.

“Most of all, we want to move forward with relationships and situations where people honor their word and keep their word. That's important to us. That's our focus now.”

The main target for Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion, was Haney, WBO welterweight champion. After lengthy negotiations that spilled onto social media on numerous occasions, the two never reached a deal due to issues over weight clauses.

While the partnership didn’t work out, Prince didn’t shut down potentially working with Zuffa Boxing down the line.

“I wish Zuffa the best,” Prince said. “I hope that they figure some things out and tighten some things up. I think they can be a force to be reckoned [with] in the future. Where we’re concerned, where Shakur is concerned right now, he's going to move on and do other things. Who knows? In the future, anything can happen.”

Prince said a fight against Manny Pacquiao was discussed for the undercard of Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on December 11. He said that Netflix, which will stream The Ring card worldwide, ultimately wasn’t interested in the fight.

Prince added that a fight with Jose Valenzuela was never discussed for the 29-year-old, and stated that The Ring’s No. 3 pound-for-pound is set to return at the beginning of 2027.

With Stevenson a promotional free agent, Prince said discussions are being had with multiple entities, including DAZN. Stevenson is coming off a dominant unanimous decision over Teofimo Lopez to become The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion on January 31.

Stevenson’s victory made him a four-division world champion.

“Shakur can do what he wants to do,” Prince said. “He always was in that position before Zuffa, so nothing changed where that's concerned. He's excited. We're excited to do business in the future. The beginning of the next year, y'all should be getting some great fights.”