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Shakur Stevenson says he’s “concerned” that challenger Floyd Schofield may pull out of his February 22 fight after he failed to show up for his press conference to discuss his undercard clash with Artur Beterbiev against Dmitry Bivol 2.
Absence of Schofield
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) wasn’t there today, but his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, was, and he spoke volumes for him.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson will defend against his hand-picked opponent Schofield if he comes forward next month. It could be one of the more interesting fights on the card because it will allow fans to see if Stevenson has turned over a new leaf. He said he would stay in the pocket for this fight and “steal the show” from the other fighters on the card.
“He definitely made a mistake. He’s a good young fighter, a hungry fighter. I still hope he takes the fight,” Shakur Stevenson said during today’s press conferencereacting to Floyd Schofield’s no show. “I’m a little worried he won’t be here. I was a little excited to see him.
“Don’t get butterflies and pull out of the fight. I know it’s a tough time. I know you’re dealing with a lot, but it just shows up. It looked like he was coming in, putting the offensive bag on and letting his hands go, hitting guys That’s what I’m coming to do on February 22.
“You’ve got a young, hungry kid. It’s not an old, worn-out guy who wants to win, but they don’t have the body or the age to do it. So this is a hungry lion. He’s talking. His father is talking . They sound very confident online. I wish they were here in person so I could see how confident they are,” Shakur said of Floyd Jr. and his father
It doesn’t matter that Schofield didn’t show up for the press conference because he’ll be there on February 22nd and he’ll put a lot of pressure on the champion. This is a fight that could go badly for Shakur if his surgically repaired right hand doesn’t hold up in the heat of battle. Trying to fight with one hand working against Floyd Jr. it will be a nightmare
“Maybe, yes, because when you talk all that, you have to live up to the hype you’re talking about,” Shakur said. “So yeah, I think the energy will be different, but we’ll see. Zepeda was my first pick. I would have loved to fight Zepeda. Now, we’re here with Schofield. That’s the next best option available.”
Stevenson should be glad the fight against William Zepeda isn’t happening because it’s one that probably would have ended badly for him. There’s no way he could have matched Zepeda’s 100+ hits per round, and he wouldn’t be able to handle the power of his shots. He would be forced to run, and that would have been a bad look.
“Steal the Show”
“What do I do to beat him? Just be myself. Get in there and perform. My goal is to steal the show. That’s why I’m here. I think Cordina is a hell of a fighter. I have nothing bad to say. I always think he and I were a good fighter. I’m in the fights the fans want to see,” Shakur said.
There is no way Shakur is going to “steal the show” on February 22 unless all the other fights bomb badly, and he goes back to his backup style of fighting. Shakur is too much of a chicken to stop using his punch and no punch style of fighting. So that rules out Stevenson “stealing the show.”
“The fans didn’t want to see me against Cordina. Everyone s*** with the fight and thought it was a horrible fight. When they saw he was fighting Schofield, they got more excited about the fight because he’s a young, undefeated lion, and he’s a natural at 135 pounds.
“A lot of people think Cordina is 130 pounds. I actually think she’s 135 pounds and I think she’ll feel better at the weight. Just because it doesn’t happen now doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Shakur said.
For a feud with Shakur and Cordina to take place in the future. it would take a lot to do. Stevenson’s career should be broken. That’s the only way this fight could happen because Cordina, 33, isn’t young and isn’t staying active with her career.
He last fought on May 8, 2024, being knocked out in the eighth round by Anthony Cacace. He has no fights scheduled and no hopes of reaching the top spot at 135 to make a matchup against Stevenson happen.
