Eddie Hearn says it’s not their “responsibility” if it’s the “right time” for the novice Floyd Schofield to challenge Shakur Stevenson for his WBC lightweight title on February 22nd. All Hearn knows is he’s been “Calling out” Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) “for ages,’ and that makes him an option for his next fight.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Schofield’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, roasted Hearn during his Clap back Thursdays this week, letting him have it for trying to set up a fight between his inexperienced “prospect’ rather than choosing one of the other contenders, like Frank Martin or Raymond Muratalla.
De La Hoya didn’t mention Andy Cruz, but he should have been the #1 choice. He’s one of Hearn’s fighters and an Olympic gold medalist.
Hearn: They Accepted Offer
“We made an offer to Golden Boy from my understanding, they accepted, but the fights got to be approved by His Excellency, by Riyadh Season, and by Shakur,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing News about a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield for February 22nd.
“It’s not our responsibility about who accepts a fight against Shakur. Our responsibility is Shakur Stevenson, and to make the most compelling fight for him that can be made. [William] Zepeda was the fight. We all agreed it. He apparently injured his hand in that fight [Tevin Farmer], and he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
“So, we go away. It could be Muratalla. It could be Floyd Schofield. It could be all these guys that are calling Shakur out. It’s not our responsibility to let you know if it’s the right time for them. Schofield has been calling out Shakur for ages with his dad, with his team,” said Hearn.
Schofield and his dad, Floyd Sr, have been calling out all the champions at 135, and it’s obvious that they’re just looking for a payday. ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield hasn’t even fought one world class fighter yet during his four-year professional career, and he wasn’t a great amateur period he turned pro. He was a decent amateur but not Olympic material.
Golden Boy Promotions have been matching Schofield against journeyman-level fighters during his young career, helping him develop and build a record. He’s nowhere near ready to fight for a world title against any of the champions at lightweight.
“If he’s ready for the challenge, I like the fight. I think he’s a great, young fighter, and I don’t think it’s ever a good time to fight Shakur Stevenson because I think he’s a pound-for-pound great. If you want to roll the dice against a true pound-for-pound great, it’s there for you. I don’t know is the answer if Stevenson-Schofield will happen, but we’re up for it,” said Hearn.
Shakur Will Be a Massive Favorite
It’s understandable why Hearn is willing to make the Shakur-Schofield fight because his fighter, Shakur, would be a massive favorite to win. However, we don’t see the same energy from Hearn to throw Stevenson back in the deep waters with Edwin De Los Santos, Andy Cruz or Raymond Muratalla.
It’s easy for Hearn to be eager to make a fight between Shakur and the 22-year-old prospect Schofield because his fighter is expected to school the novice, who is just starting out, and he looked horrendously bad in his last fight. Why isn’t Hearn pushing to match Shakur against the Cuban, Andy Cruz, who he promotes?
The 2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz is one of Hearn’s Matchroom fighters, and he’s not getting any younger at 29. Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) is worlds superior to Schofield in talent, highly ranked, and is rotting on the vine, facing scrubs. Why isn’t Hearn making a fight between Cruz and Shakur?
