Eddie Hearn says it’s not their “responsibility” if the “time is right” for newcomer Floyd Schofield to challenge Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title on February 22. All Hearn knows is that he’s been “calling out” Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) “for years,” and that makes him an option for his next fight.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Schofield’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, grilled Hearn during his Clap back on Thursday this week, allowing him to try to set up a fight between his inexperienced “prospect” instead of choosing one of the other contenders, such as Frank Martin or Raymond Muratala.
De La Hoya didn’t mention Andy Cruz, but he should have been the No. 1 pick. He’s one of Hearn’s fighters and an Olympic gold medalist.
Hearn: They accepted the offer
“We made an offer to Golden Boy from my understanding, they accepted, but the fights had to be approved by His Excellency, the season in Riyadh and Shakur,” Eddie Hearn said. Boxing News about the fight between Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield for February 22nd.
“It is not our responsibility who will accept the fight against Shakur.” Our responsibility is Shakur Stevenson and to fight for him as convincingly as possible. (William) Zepeda was a struggle. We all agreed. Apparently he hurt his hand in that fight (Tevin Farmer), and he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
“So we’re leaving.” It could be Muratala. It could be Floyd Schofield. Maybe all these guys are calling out Shakur. It is not our responsibility to let you know if the time is right for them. “Schofield has been calling out Shakur for years with his dad, with his team,” Hearn said.
Schofield and his dad, Floyd Sr., call out all the champions at 135, and it’s clear they’re just looking for a payday. ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield has yet to fight a world-class fighter in his four-year pro career, and it wasn’t a great amateur period until he turned pro. He was a decent amateur, but not Olympic material.
Golden Boy Promotions has matched Schofield with journeyman level fighters throughout his young career, helping him develop and build a record. He is nowhere near ready to fight for a world title against any of the lightweight champions.
“If he’s up for the challenge, I like the fight.” I think he’s a great, young fighter, and I don’t think it’s ever the right time to fight Shakur Stevenson, because I think he’s a great pound-for-pound guy. If you want to roll the dice against a true pound-for-pound great, this is for you. “I don’t know the answer is whether Stevenson-Schofield will happen, but we’re all for it,” Hearn said.
Shakur will be the heavy favorite
It’s understandable why Hearn is willing to make a fight between Shakur and Schofield as his fighter, Shakur, would be a heavy favorite to win. However, we don’t see the same energy from Hearn to throw Stevenson back into deep water with Edwin De Los Santos, Andy Cruz or Raymond Muratala.
It’s easy for Hearn to be eager for a fight between Shakur and 22-year-old prospect Schofield because his fighter is expected to school a rookie who is just getting started and looked awful in his last fight. Why isn’t Hearn trying to fight Shakur against the Cuban Andy Cruz he’s promoting?
2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz is one of Hearn’s matchup fighters and he’s not getting any younger at 29 years old. Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) is worlds superior to Schofield in talent, highly ranked and rotting on the vine, facing scrubs. Why isn’t Hearn fighting between Cruz and Shakur?
