JOSH Padley has seized the opportunity of a lifetime as he steps foot in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to face WBC world lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
It was announced yesterday that Floyd Schofield had been forced to withdraw from his clash with Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs), after suffering an illness during fight week.
The pair were supposed to lock horns this Saturday but Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs), failed to attend yesterday’s grand arrivals and was instead taken to hospital.
Subsequently, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) – the recognised governing body for this event – made the decision to pull ‘Kid Austin’ out of the scheduled contest.
But now, it has been confirmed by Ring Magazine that Padley, 15-0 (4 KOs), will enter a monumental test against Stevenson on just a few days’ notice.
The 29-year-old was reportedly approached immediately after Schofield’s withdrawal, with the Brit meeting a BBBC check weigh-in before flying out to Saudi Arabia.
While he is yet to face any world level operators, ‘Paddy’ is nonetheless ranked 12th – one place above Schofield – in the WBC lightweight rankings.
In his last outing, Padley pulled off a sizable upset to drop and outpoint Mark Chamberlain, putting himself in the shop window for a potentially life-changing shot at greatness.
Stevenson, meanwhile, comes off a routine title defence against Artem Harutyunyan last July, with a hand injury keeping him out of action ever since.
But with the 27-year-old fully recovered, he will now take on a late-notice opponent who has absolutely nothing to lose.
Whether his green and gold belt is still on the line, however, is yet to be confirmed.
