World title fight on Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry undercard cancelled over poison accusation
The bumper card headlined by Artur Bertebiev and Dmitry Bivol's rematch has been rocked by a late cancellation.
Seven world title or interim world title bouts had been scheduled for Saturday's event in Riyadh.
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But that number has dropped to six as Floyd Schofield was forced to pull out of his fight against Shakur Stevenson for the WBC world lightweight title.
Schofield was already in Saudi Arabia at the start of fight week, but was a mysterious no-show for the grand arrivals on Tuesday.
He was the only boxer who missed out on the festivities.
News of his withdrawal came on the back of wild accusations on social media that he was poisoned.
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In a statement to marvelbet369.com, Schofield Sr said: "Floyd will be ok and make a full recovery... Someone tried to kill him."
Schofield Sr also posted a video on Instagram showing his son lying in a hospital bed and refuted accusations he was ducking any fight.
British boxing chief Robert Smith later responded to Schofield Sr's allegations on talkSPORT's White and Jordan.
"All I can tell you is that he went to hospital and he's been deemend not to box," Smith said.
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Smith also stressed the importance of waiting to get 'the full facts' before putting the picture together.
With Schofield out, England's Josh Padley has been locked in as the late replacement to face Stevenson.
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The 28-year-old, who is an electrician by day, stunned the boxing world and the bookies when he overcame odds of 9/1 to beat Mark Chamberlain on the Anthony Joshua v Daniel Dubois undercard at Wembley Stadium last September.
Padley dropped Chamberlain, who was a plasterer before he went full-time as a boxer, late in the fight on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Stevenson respected Padley for stepping up on such short notice to save the fight but promised he'll leave the electrician in a world of hurt.
“[His background] means he wants it a lot more than anybody else," Stevenson said.
“I’m gonna beat him up though that's what I'm going to do, beat him up and let him know he's in there with an elite level fighter."
Stevenson added: “I know if it was me and I’m in the gym working, ready…if I’m in the gym and I’m close to fighting weight then I’m ready to go.
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“Anytime and place just sign me up. I respect him for what he's doing, there's definitely a lot of respect from my part but I would for sure be willing to do the same thing if it was me and I’m ready to go.”
However, Stevenson was less complementary of Schofield.
“There was just too much clown stuff going on in the build up to the fight, there were a lot of lies they were saying and I’ve just never dealt with that kind of opponent throwing different things out there everyday," Stevenson said.
“There was a new story everyday for them so I was worried about the fight. I knew the fight wasn’t going to happen when I saw him here, he didn't even look on weight … truthfully that’s what's going on in my brain
“I saw his dad in the elevator, I want to say last night, and he kind of gave a hint that the fight was going to be off."
Stevenson added: "He initially said that he was poisoned by my massage therapist but I don’t even have a message therapist down here so I really don't know what's going on. I've seen the videos he's put up so hopefully he gets better.
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Meet the electrician turned boxer Josh Padley who is set to fight Shakur Stevenson on a stacked card featuring Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev
“My initial thoughts are that he was sucked down to the weight, he was trying to make the weight and he was probably a little bit dehydrated but instead of saying that they come out with all of these kind of stories.
“It’s fight time for me. I stay out of this legal stuff, all of that kind of stuff I’m just focused on the fight. I still have a guy in front of me who wants to win and wants to take my spot. I’m not going to let him take my sport."
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