Shakur Stevenson to Face Josh Padley After Last-Minute Opponent Change

In an unexpected turn of events, British boxer Josh Padley has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to face WBC world lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This last-minute change comes after Floyd Schofield was forced to withdraw from the scheduled bout due to illness.

Schofield, who was originally set to fight Stevenson this Saturday, was hospitalized during fight week and subsequently removed from the contest by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), the governing body for the event.

Padley, with a record of 15 wins and no losses (4 KOs), will step into the ring against the undefeated Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) on just a few days’ notice. The 29-year-old British fighter, ranked 12th in the WBC lightweight rankings, was reportedly approached immediately after Schofield’s withdrawal and quickly passed a BBBC check weigh-in before flying to Saudi Arabia.

While Padley lacks experience against world-class opponents, he recently scored a significant upset victory over Mark Chamberlain, which has put him in contention for this potentially career-defining opportunity.

Stevenson, 27, is coming off a successful title defense against Artem Harutyunyan last July and has since recovered from a hand injury that kept him out of action. He now faces the challenge of adjusting to a new opponent on short notice.

As of now, it remains unclear whether Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title will be on the line for this hastily arranged matchup. Regardless, the boxing world will be watching closely as these two fighters step into the ring under these unusual circumstances.