“We didn’t pull out. The British Board of Commission, they withdrew Floyd,” replied Floyd Schofield Sr., when asked about why his son didn’t show up for the highly anticipated fight against Shakur Stevenson. Now, let’s be real for a second. No boxing commission is going to just pull a fighter from a major bout unless there’s a serious health concern. If Floyd was truly good to go, there’d be no reason for the BBBofC to step in at all. Right? What really stirred the pot was Team Schofield initially accusing Team Shakur of poisoning the 22-year-old fighter. Then, just three days before the “Last Crescendo” card, a photo surfaced online of Floyd Schofield Jr. lying in a hospital bed, hooked to machines. And just like that, Josh Padley was called up last minute to salvage the fight.
Despite all that, Schofield Sr. took shots at Shakur, yelling, “NO ONE DUCK a FIGHT WITH MR. PILLOW HANDS!!!” But actions speak louder than words, and to fans—and many inside the boxing world—it looked more like a duck than an unfortunate incident. And guess who else had something to say about it? J Prince. The veteran American music mogul and longtime boxing manager who currently manages Shakur Stevenson saw everything unfold closer than the rest of us. So what was J Prince’s take on all the chaos?
Floyd Schofield Jr. managed to put on a “Clown Show”
In an interview with Fight Hub TV yesterday, J Prince was super transparent when talking about the whole drama with Floyd Schofield Jr. pulling out of the fight. When asked how crazy the whole situation was, from trying to lock in an opponent to the fallout with Schofield’s team, J Prince straight up called it a “clown show.” According to him, “They came up with all types of reasons and excuses, prior to the fight to kind of let us know they wasn’t fighting.” Deep down, he felt like they were never serious about showing up. But still, he didn’t want to believe it.
And when the cancelation finally happened? He said it was a “scary situation.” Why? Because their whole fight card was at risk of falling apart. And then he mentioned that, luckily, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn came through in the clutch and managed to save the show. J Prince, acknowledging Hearn’s resourcefulness, said “He was able to pull a rabbit out of the hat” to keep things going.
The reporter then asked about the moment everyone saw the picture of Schofield in the hospital, and the excuses started flying. J Prince? Not buying it. When asked how he felt seeing that, he called it what he thought it was: “Hollywood bullsh-t.”
He felt like the whole thing confirmed what he already suspected. “That’s what went on my mind. And you know, it was like confirmation of all the lies and different things was said and told prior to the fight,” he stated. And even though Floyd’s a fellow Texan, J Prince made it clear— “That was some clown sh-t that they pulled.” No sugarcoating. In short, J Prince was not impressed. And he wants everyone to know it.
Floyd Schofield was last seen in the ring putting on a solid performance against Rene Tellez Giron, cruising to a unanimous decision win after 12 rounds last year. No doubt, the kid’s got skills. But ever since that February fight with Shakur Stevenson fell apart, things have been kind of quiet on the Schofield front—no word yet on who he’ll be facing next. But if you’re wondering whether the WBC Lightweight champion would even consider rescheduling a fight with him? Well, the Newark native already made that crystal clear.
Shakur Stevenson was slapped on his face
Last month, Shakur Stevenson opened up during an interview with Cigar Talk. You could feel the disappointment in his voice. “It was very disappointing just off the fact that I gave him an opportunity,” the 23-0 boxer said. “I’m the one who put him on that stage.” According to Stevenson, when the higher-ups weren’t too thrilled about the matchup, he was the one who pushed to make it happen. And how did Schofield repay that? In Shakur Stevenson’s words, “He just slapped me in my face.”
Now, here’s the thing. Shakur Stevenson doesn’t owe Schofield anything. He’s the WBC champion, and Schofield isn’t even close in the rankings—he’s sitting at #13. Translation? If Schofield wants another crack at the title, he’s gonna have to earn it the hard way. That means stacking wins and working his way up. No shortcuts this time.
To make matters tougher, Shakur Stevenson’s 2024 schedule is already in solid shape. Ongoing hand injuries have made it clear he’s probably only fighting once more this year—if that. Ideally, Shakur’s looking for bigger names: Gervonta Davis, William Zepeda, maybe even Lamont Roach. So what does that mean for Schofield?
Well, he might still be in a good spot when it comes to the other three sanctioning bodies. But if he’s still dreaming of Shakur’s green and gold WBC belt? It will take a while. Because when asked if he’d ever fight Schofield again, Shakur Stevenson didn’t hesitate. “F–k no, hell no,” he said. “He ain’t deserve to be there.”
With that said, what are your thoughts on Floyd Schofield Jr’s situation? Do you think he ducked Shakur Stevenson? Do share your thoughts with us below.
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