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Boxing News: Tweets Led to Shocking Shakur Stevenson Retirement

The 26-year-old superstar is hanging up the gloves.

Zain Bando

Boxing News: Tweets Led to Shocking Shakur Stevenson Retirement
Boxing News: Tweets Led to Shocking Shakur Stevenson Retirement /

Shakur Stevenson stunned the boxing world Tuesday night by announcing his retirement on 'X.'

Throughout his brief career, the 26-year-old competed in three different weight classes, including lightweight, featherweight, and super-featherweight.

Stevenson said he has better things to do with his life than box, citing the sport as "weak."

"I’m officially retiring from the sport of boxing," Stevenson wrote. "I’ll be in the gym forever perfecting my craft and helping the next generation become great and chase they dreams but I ain’t fw this weak boxing game."

Before his sudden retirement, Stevenson, a New Jersey native, had remained unblemished with 21 consecutive wins, including 10 KO's. His most recent victory saw him defeat Edwin De Los Santos in a unanimous decision to capture the previously vacant WBC world lightweight title.

Stevenson did not have a bout on the books to begin 2024. He had been complaining of other boxers such as Vasiliy Lomachenko "ducking" him in favor of an IBF lightweight title fight against George Kambosos. The last straw may have been the WBO's mandate to have Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk fight for the vacant gold at 135 pounds, as explained by Michael Benson.

"Shakur Stevenson claiming he’s now retiring from boxing after hearing that the WBO have ordered Emanuel Navarrete vs Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight world title," Benson wrote. "Shakur had previously called out Navarrete to challenge him for his WBC belt.

In a piece released Tuesday, DAZN cited potential blockbuster fights Stevenson could have partook in, including Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, both of which are obsolete.

It is unknown what the WBC will do moving forward, but given boxing's ever-changing landscape, the division will move forward as advertised but differently.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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