With Floyd Schofield out due to illness, Josh Padley has officially stepped in to face Shakur Stevenson on this Saturday’s Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 show in Riyadh.
Padley (15-0, 4 KO), best known for upsetting Mark Chamberlain last year, was named as a potential replacement yesterday when news first broke first broke of Schofield’s exist. All things considered, he’s about as good a Plan B as you could ask for; he’s ranked by three sanctioning bodies and is coming off a legit win. Sure, I’d have preferred someone with a genuine chance at beating Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO), but those are in critically short supply even without the ultra-short notice.
I’m sure a good chunk of you were relieved at the possibility of Stevenson exiting the show altogether, but look on the bright side: at least a skill gap this big could inspire Stevenson to bring out the venom he showed against Shuichiro Yoshino.