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Shakur Stevenson says he is “concerned” that challenger Floyd Schofield may withdraw from their February 22 fight after he failed to show up for his press conference to discuss their clash on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2.
Schofield’s absence
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) simply 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 steps up next month. It could be one of the most interesting fights on the card because it will allow fans to see if Stevenson has turned the page. He said he would stay in the bag 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 fight. press conferencereacting to Floyd Schofield’s absence. “I’m a little worried that he’s not here. I was a little excited to see it.
“Don’t get discouraged and withdraw from the fight. I know it’s a difficult time. I know you’re dealing with a lot, but just show up. It seemed like I came in, put on my offensive bag and let my hands go, hitting the guys. That’s what I’m coming to do on February 22nd.
“You have a young, hungry child. He’s not an old, worn-out guy who wants to win, but he doesn’t have the body or the age to do it. So this is a hungry lion. He is speaking. His dad 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 to the press conference because he will be there on February 22 and will 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 to the heat of battle. Trying to fight Floyd Jr. one-handed will be a nightmare.
“Maybe so, because when you talk so much, you have to live up to the expectations you express,” Shakur said. “So, yeah, I think the energy is going to be different, but we’ll see. Zepeda was my first choice. I would have loved to have fought Zepeda. Now we are here with Schofield. “That’s the next best option available.”
Stevenson should be glad the William Zepeda fight didn’t happen because it probably would have ended badly for him. There’s no way he could match Zepeda’s 100+ hits per box, and he wouldn’t be able to match the power of his shots. He would be forced to run and that would have looked bad.
“Stealing the show”
“What do I do to beat it? Just be myself. Get in there and take action. My goal is to steal the show. That’s what I’m here for. I think Cordina is a great fighter. I don’t have anything bad to say. I always thought he and I were good fighters. “I like fights that 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 fail badly and he remakes his fighting style by prioritizing safety. Shakur is too cowardly to stop using his hit-and-don’t-get-hit fighting style. So, that rules out Stevenson ‘stealing the show’.
“The fans didn’t want to see me against Cordina. Everyone shit on the fight and thought it was a horrible fight. When they saw that he was fighting Schofield, they became more excited about the fight because he is a young, undefeated lion, and he is a natural weight of 135 pounds.
“A lot of people think Cordina weighs 130 pounds. In fact, I think he weighs 135 pounds and I think he will feel better at that weight. Just because it’s not happening now doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Shakur said.
So that a fight with Shakur and Cordina takes place in the future. It would take a lot of work. Stevenson’s career would have to crumble. That’s the only way that fight could happen because Cordina, 33, is not young and is not active in his career.
He last fought on May 8, 2024, when he was knocked out in the eighth round by Anthony Cacace. He has no fights scheduled and no hopes of reaching the top spot at 135 for a clash with Stevenson to occur.
