World title fight called off with boxer hospitalised after poisoning accusation
Floyd Schofield’s father has shared footage of his son in hospital after he was pulled from his fight just days from the opening bell on Saturday night following claims his son was ‘poisoned’.
Schofield, 22, was scheduled to fight American sensation Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title on the stacked card in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
It was one of seven fights scheduled for the blockbuster event in Riyadh, headlined by the undisputed light-heavyweight rematch between Artur Beberbiev and Dmitry Bivol and the heavyweight showdown between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.
It emerged overnight however that Schofield was withdrawn from his fight on medical grounds by the British Boxing Board of Control. ‘Kid Austin’ arrived in Saudi as planned this week but was mysteriously absent from the grand arrivals on Tuesday.
With Schofield facing questions over the reasoning for the late withdrawal, his father, Floyd Snr, shared a video of his son lying in a hospital bed, urging boxing fans to ‘send prayers’.
In a dark twist, leaked messages reportedly from Schofield’s camp alleged individuals had ‘poisoned his son’. Further tweets from Schofield’s account went onto accuse unnamed parties of being involved.
‘People are going to feel dumb when they see the proof,’ Schofield’s account, believed to be run by his father and trainer wrote. ‘People fear Floyd and this just made him more focused. Karma is very real… All things will be revealed in time.
‘We look forward going home to Texas and on to the next fight. The fight game is so dirty on this level.
‘I won’t say his name but their team need to be banned from the sport. I can see why people duck him, because the bull that comes with his team.’
Schofield had been set for his first world title fight up against Stevenson, already a three-weight world champion at the age of 27 and regarded as one of the best in the business.
Efforts are underway to find a late replacement for Schofield with England’s Josh Padley one name under consideration.
An electrician by day, Padley overcame huge odds to score a huge upset win over Mark Chamberlain at Wembley Stadium in September.
Saturday’s card will be headlined by the rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol, with the former sealing a narrow win in their first meeting last October.
Dubois defends his IBF heavyweight title against former world champion Parker in his first fight since demolishing Anthony Joshua last year.
British star Hamzah Sheeraz is seeking to become WBC middleweight champion when he takes on Carlos Adames with Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith colliding in a long-awaited meeting of two of the country’s best light-heavyweights.
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