Rewind six months and Doncaster, England’s Josh Padley had only completed the 10-round distance once, in a Central Area lightweight title fight, and he went into a fight with Mark Chamberlain – then unbeaten and a favorite of Turki Alalshikh – at Wembley Stadium as a sizeable underdog. On Saturday the 29-year-old, 15-0 (4 KOs), is set to challenge Shakur Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs), for the WBC lightweight title.
If ever boxing being compared to a game of snakes and ladders needed an appropriate storyline, this is it. In London, on the undercard of Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua, and with Alalshikh watching on, Padley defeated Chamberlain over 10 rounds, flooring him along the way. But that wasn’t the moment his position in the game arrived at the foot of the mother of all ladders. The dice started rolling again this week, quite unexpectedly, when Stevenson’s original opponent, Floyd Schofield, was pulled out by British Boxing Board of Control doctors in Saudi Arabia at approximately 6.30pm Tuesday.
Schofield was feeling unwell, doctors have confirmed to BoxingScene, and though there were no specific symptoms his condition was enough of a concern for him to be sent to hospital and declared unfit to fight.
“Yesterday, Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield Jr. fell ill and was transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure,” his promoters, Golden Boy, have since stated. “In the interest of Schofield’s health and safety, the British Boxing Board of Control made the decision to cancel his scheduled bout against Shakur Stevenson. Schofield has since been discharged from the hospital and is awaiting the results of his medical evaluation. We extend our gratitude to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, SELA, and the medical professionals who provided Schofield with care.”
Stevenson, meanwhile, took to the stage at the grand arrivals of the huge Riyadh Season event – topped, of course, by Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol II – to declare he would prove himself to be the best boxer in boxing on Saturday night.
It was reported on social media, by Ring Magazine, that Padley was under consideration as a replacement. It has subsequently been confirmed to BoxingScene by his manager and trainer Stefy Bull, alongside WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, that the reports are true. Presuming Padley, who is ranked 12th by the WBC, passes the tests that Schofield ultimately could not, he will challenge Stevenson.
“Crazy,” Bull said. “We were in talks to fight Dalton Smith in Sheffield in April. Then at midnight [Tuesday, GMT] we agreed to Saudi… Changed his life, whatever the result.”
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