Is Floyd Schofield Right? Hearn Downplays Responsibility In Shakur Stevenson Title Fight

Eddie Hearn says it is not their “responsibility” if the “time is right” for veteran Floyd Schofield to challenge Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight belt on February 22. All Hearn knows is that he has been “calling” Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) for years. and that gives him a choice in his next battle.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Schofield’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, grilled Hearn when he hit Clap Thursday this week, letting him have it for trying to fight among his inexperienced “hope” instead of choosing one of his other contenders, like Frank Martin or Raymond Muratalla. .

De La Hoya did not mention Andy Cruz, but he should have been the #1 choice. He is one of Hearn’s fighters and an Olympic gold medalist.

Aviwe: They agreed

“We made a request to Golden Boy as far as I understand, they agreed, but the fights were approved by His Majesty, Riyadh Season, and Shakur,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to Boxing News about the fight between Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield. on February 22.

“It is not our responsibility who accepts to fight Shakur. Our responsibility is Shakur Stevenson, and making the hardest fight for him possible. [William] Zepeda was a warrior. We all agreed. He apparently injured his hand in that fight [Tevin Farmer]and he doesn’t want to fight anymore.

“So, we’re leaving. It could be Mratalla. It could be Floyd Schofield. It could be all of these people calling Shakur. It is not our responsibility to inform you when it is the right time for them. “Schofield has been calling Shakur for years with his dad, with his team,” Hearn said.

Schofield and his father, Floyd Sr, have been calling all the champions at 135, and it’s clear they want a payday. ‘Austin the Kid’ Schofield hasn’t fought a single world-class fighter during his four-year professional career, and he wasn’t a rookie when he became a professional. He was a decent amateur but not Olympic material.

Golden Boy Promotions matched Schofield with tour-level fighters during his young career, helping him develop and build a record. He is not at all ready to fight for a world title with any lightweight champion.

“If it’s up for a challenge, I love a fight. I think he’s a young fighter, and I don’t think there’s ever a good time to fight Shakur Stevenson because I think he’s a great pound-for-pound fighter. If you want to roll the dice against the pound for real big pound, it’s there for you. “I don’t know if the answer will be Stevenson-Schofield, but we are ready for that,” said Hearn.

Shakur Will Be the Big Favorite

It’s understandable why Hearn is willing to make a Shakur-Schofield fight because his opponent, Shakur, would be a heavy favorite to win. However, we don’t see the same strength from Hearn to throw Stevenson back into deep water with Edwin De Los Santos, Andy Cruz or Raymond Muratalla.

It’s easy for Hearn to look forward to a fight between Shakur and the 22-year-old Schofield because his fighter is expected to teach the rookie, who is just starting out, and looked awful in his last fight. Why isn’t Hearn pushing to match Shakur with the Cuban, Andy Cruz, who he is promoting?

2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz is one of Hearn’s Matchroom fighters, and he’s not even 29 years old. Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) is a lot higher in the world than Schofield in terms of talent, he’s ranked higher, and he’s rotting on the vine, facing scrubs. Why isn’t Hearn making a fight between Cruz and Shakur?