Floyd Schofield Jr. pulls OUT of Shakur Stevenson fight, Doncaster’s Josh Padley steps in

Floyd Schofield Jr. has pulled out of his WBC world lightweight title fight with Shakur Stevenson on the February 22 Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitri Bivol 2 undercard with an illness, according to reports. 

Taking his place is Doncaster’s Josh Padley, who was last seen in action on the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois undercard, where he picked apart the unbeaten Mark Chamberlain in a bit of an upset. 

Padley remains undefeated, but will face by far the strongest test of his career when he takes on the Olympic silver medalist on Saturday evening.

Additionally, the fight will be for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight world title – giving Padley the opportunity to join the likes of Terri Harper and Jamie McDonnell amongst Doncaster’s past and present boxing world champions.

His underrated movement and fast hand speed could frustrate Stevenson – but he will need to be on top of his game if he wants to put a dent in the undefeated American. 

What happened to Floyd Schofield Jr?

There is confusion surrounding the circumstances of Schofield’s late withdrawal from the fight. His father, Floyd Schofield Sr, posted a video of him sleeping in a hospital bed on his son’s official Instagram page. 

Certain sources claim that Schofield was ‘poisoned’ prior to falling ill, while others have accused him and his father of ‘staging’ the illness to avoid the fight at the weekend.

His father has staunchly refuted these claims, stating that ‘no one’ would dodge a bout with Stevenson, referring to him pejoratively as ‘Mr. Pillow Hands’. 

Indeed, it seems strange that a fighter would pull out of a high profile bout at such short notice – especially one in Schofield’s position, who has very little to lose and everything to gain (even in defeat). 

In the Instagram post, Schofield Sr. wrote: “As a parent I am overwhelmed. People can be cruel and evil. The comeback will be major. NO ONE DUCK A FIGHT WITH MR. PILLOW HANDS!!!

“Thank you to the Excellency for their great hospitality. Hopefully in the future we can talk. Right now the focus is my son. All my prayers warriors, send prayers please.”