Insider Reveals Final Two Shakur Stevenson Opponent Options Amid Floyd Schofield Exit

These two boxers are the final replacement options to fight Shakur Stevenson after Floyd Schofield was forced to withdraw from their February 22 fight.

Shakur Stevenson (USA) und Artem Harutyunyan (GER) during the Boxing WBC World Championship. / IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

Arguably the greatest boxing card of all time on February 22 suffered a brutal blow on February 18, as news broke that Floyd "Kid Austin" Schofield has been forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Shakur Stevenson due to illness.

This fight between two undefeated and elite boxers was supposed to be for Stevenson's WBC lightweight title.

While there's no shortage of fantastic fights on this card (even after Schofield withdrew), getting to see Stevenson — who has been maligned by the boxing community of late because of what is deemed an unexciting fighting style — fighting under the Matchroom Boxing banner for the first time was perhaps the most compelling storyline.

The Ring has learned that WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is hunting for a late replacement. Floyd Schofield has fallen ill, and was pulled from the fight by the British Boxing Board of Control.

According to a source, two of the options being considered include Moussa… pic.twitter.com/O9jmfGGAkr

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) February 18, 2025

While no Schofield takes away from this fight's intrigue, Stevenson is still expected to stay on the card. Ring Magazine initially listed Moussa Gholam and Josh Padley as two of the potential replacement candidates. However, boxing insider Ariel Helwani revealed that only one of these two fighters is still in the running to face Stevenson.

Helwani wrote:

The plan/hope is to keep Shakur Stevenson on the card this Saturday, sources say.

It’s down to options right now:

Jadier Herrera
Josh Padley

The plan/hope is to keep Shakur Stevenson on the card this Saturday, sources say.

It’s down to options right now:

Jadier Herrera
Josh Padley

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 19, 2025

Jadier Herrera is a 22-year-old Cuban boxer with a 16-0 record that includes 14 KOs. Josh Padley is a 29-year-old English boxer with a 15-0 record that includes 4 KOs.

While both boxers are appealing options, neither will be able to recover the hype that Schofield was bringing into this bout.

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