SHAKUR Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title defence has been cancelled after opponent Floyd Schofield was taken ill during fight week, according to The Ring. Alarm bells rang when the Texas resident did not turn up at the grand arrivals for this weekend’s ‘Last Crescendo’ card in Riyadh. Initial reports suggested that making check weight was the issue.
Mysterious rumours then began floating about that Schofield had been poisoned. His Twitter account sent out some further whispers describing illicit creams and a masseuse. It remains to be seen whether a replacement can be found at such short notice for such a high-profile slot.
Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs), was last seen defeating Artem Harutyunyan on points last July in Newark. The southpaw star has been closing in on a bout with generational rival Gervonta Davis at lightweight to decide a successor to Terence Crawford as the next American star of the current crop.
Floyd Schofield, promoted by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy, is currently 18-0 (12 KOs), and despite being a promising prospect, ‘Kid Austin’ has never mixed in the kind of Stevenson class before. That chance might not come around again.
Schofield was dropped in round 11 of his last bout by Rene Tellez Giron, going on to win a unanimous decision in Las Vegas. Many saw that as a huge warning sign around Floyd’s chances of springing an upset against a fighter of Shakur’s vast abilities.
