Shakur Stevenson says he’s “worried” that challenger Floyd Schofield may withdraw from their February 22nd fight after he was a no-show for their press conference to discuss their undercard clash on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card.
Schofield’s Absence
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) just wasn’t there today, but his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, was, and he did a lot of talking for him.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson will defend against his hand-picked opponent, Schofield if he shows up next month. It could be one of the more interesting fights on the card because it’ll allow fans to see if Stevenson has turned over a new leaf. He said he was going to 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,” said Shakur Stevenson during today’s press conference, reacting to Floyd Schofield’s no show. “I’m kind of worried that he’s not here. I was kind of excited to see him.
“Don’t get butterflies and pull out of the fight. I know it’s a hard time. I know you’re dealing with a lot, but just show up. It looked like me coming in, putting on my offensive bag and letting my hands go, beating guys up. That’s what I’m coming to do on February 22nd.
“You got a young, hungry kid. It’s not some old, washed up guy that wants to win, but they don’t got the body or the age to do it. So, this is a hungry lion. He’s talking. His dad is talking. They sound very confident online. I wish they were here in person so, I could see how really confident they are,” said Shakur about Floyd Jr. and his father.
It doesn’t matter that Schofield didn’t show up during the press conference because he’ll be there on February 22nd, and he’ll be putting 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 under the heat of battle. Trying to fight with just one working hand against Floyd Jr. will be a nightmare.
“Maybe, yeah, because when you do all that talking, you have to live up to the hype that you talk,” said Shakur. “So, yeah, I think the energy is going to be different, but we’ll see. Zepeda was my first pick. I would have loved to have fought Zepeda. Now, we’re here with Schofield. That’s the next best available option.”
Stevenson should be glad that the fight against William Zepeda isn’t happening because that’s one that would have likely ended badly for him. There’s no way that he could have matched Zepeda’s high 100+ punches per round outbox, and he wouldn’t be able to stand up to the power of his shots. He would be forced to run, and that would have been a bad look.
“Stealing The Show”
“What do I do to beat him? Just be myself. Go in there and perform. My goal is to steal the show. That’s what I’m here for. I think Cordina is a hell of a fighter. I don’t got nothing too bad to say. I always thought me and him was a good fighter. I’m into the fights that the fans want to see,” said Shakur.
There’s no way that Shakur is going to “steal the show” on February 22nd unless all the other fights bomb badly, and he remakes his safety-first fighting style. Shakur is too chicken to stop using his hit-and-not-get-hit fighting style. So, that kind of rules out Stevenson ‘stealing the show.’
“The fans didn’t want to see me versus Cordina. Everybody s*** on the fight and thought it was a horrible fight. When they saw I was fighting Schofield, they got more excited about the fight because he’s a young, undefeated lion, and he’s a natural 135-pounder.
“A lot of people think Cordina is a 130-pounder. I actually think he’s a 135-pounder, and I think he’s going to feel better at the weight. Just because it’s not happening now doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” said Shakur.
For a fight with Shakur and Cordina to take place in the future. it would take a lot of doing. Stevenson’s career would have to fall apart. That’s the only way that fight could happen because the 33-year-old Cordina isn’t young, and he’s not staying active with his career.
He last fought on May 8, 2024, getting knocked out in the eighth round by Anthony Cacace. He has no fights scheduled and no hopes of reaching a top spot at 135 for a clash against Stevenson to happen.
2025-01-13 22:44:12
