By: Sean Crose
It appears Floyd Schofield won’t get a chance to best the man he once looked up to. The 18-0 Schofield was set to face 22-0 Shakur Stevenson, a fighter he once idolized, this Saturday in Saudi Arabia. A scheduled 12 rounder for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title is still likely to go on, but Schofield has had to step away due to an undisclosed sickness. Apparently he was taken by ambulance to a Saudi hospital on Monday. As of press time, Schofield’s current condition has not been reported. Needless to say, the New Jersey – by way of Texas – native had made it clear he was eager to throw down with Stevenson in the ring. The two men, after all, have a history.
“I knew Shakur growing up,” the 22 year old told talkSport, “I always used to see him at the amateur fights because he was about to get ready to go to the Olympics…he was a little older than me. I would always take pictures with him and whatnot.” If Schofield is to believed, however, things changed as time moved on. With Schofield now having fallen ill, the fight world will be left waiting to see who is the better man.
With that being said, social media is currently popping that Stevenson has been avoided by Schofield. And, true enough, Stevenson – for whatever reason – has not been able to land a big fight in one of the hottest divisions in boxing. Still, it seems a bit rash to assume Schofield would intentionally duck a major fight just days before the opening bell is sounded. There’s just too much at stake.
Although Monday’s developments put something of a damper on Saturday’s card in Saudi Arabia, it isn’t much of a damper, as the card is one of the best in recent history. Aside from Stevenson, who may very well still be fighting, the schedule is packed with high end matchings. Artur Beterbiev will be rematching Dmitry Bivol for light heavyweight supremacy in the main event. On top of that, Joseph Parker will be facing Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title in the co-main. And that’s just two of the bouts on the agenda.
With or without Stevenson-Schofield, Saturday should be a terrific day of boxing. It would have been nice to see Stevenson and Schofield square off, though. It would have been an interesting addition to a very interesting event.
