Home Boxing News Floyd Schofield lands main event after Vergil Ortiz Jr collapses

Floyd Schofield lands main event after Vergil Ortiz Jr collapses

Lightweight prospect Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield 14-0 (11) has been bumped up to main event status when he takes on Haskell ‘Hackman’ Rhodes 28-4-1 (13) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday night.

The pair were set to clash on the undercard of the fight between top welterweight contenders Vergil Ortiz Jr 19-0 (19) and Eimantas Stanionis 14-0 (9) before the former fainted and was hospitalised ahead of the weigh-in.

Promoter Golden Boy released a statement about Ortiz: “Nothing is more important than the safety of our fighters, and we of course support Vergil’s decision 100 percent.

“This unfortunate event does however open the door for one of Golden Boy’s top prospects, Floyd Schofield, to accelerate his profile by headlining in his home state of Texas.

“We will, as always, put on a high-action card from top to bottom on July 8 and look forward to showcasing all of our fighters both in San Antonio and on DAZN.”

It was an unexpected opportunity for the 20-year-old Schofield from Austin, Texas, who suddenly finds himself not only fighting in front of hometown fans, but also carrying the card.

“It’s a blessing to be the main event, everybody is coming up to me now ‘oh, now you’re the main event’ so you know, I gotta do what I got to do,” Schofield said.

“Hearing that, I know I have to make a statement. I was training just as hard as if I was the main event from the beginning, so Saturday night I am going to make a statement.

“It’s super exciting to be fighting in San Antonio because it’s like now, all my fans don’t have an excuse, they can come to this fight. So I’d like to see everyone who said they were coming. I have a big fan base in Austin and in San Antonio, and to combine them for the fight is going to be massive support and love, the energy is going to be amazing.

“I just want to give a big thanks to Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy, Bernard Hopkins, my dad, my team, Chris, Cameron Davies, and all the fans. Thank you for not cancelling this fight and my best wishes to Virgil Ortiz. Make sure you tune in on Saturday. It’s gonna be a good show.”

Rhodes, 35, who bases himself out of Las Vegas, Nevada, sees it as an opportunity for him to make a name for himself on a huge platform.

“Just like Schofield, we’ve been training just like we’re the main event to compete against the whole card to steal the show,” Rhodes said.

“But I do want to say thanks to Golden Boy and everyone for keeping the show going and also to Floyd for taking the fight with me to put me in this position.

“I know he’s super talented but I’ve seen a lot like him and I’m used to styles like his, so I bring the experience and I’m ready.

“I know I have learned some lessons that have helped me straighten out my life because there are some fights I shouldn’t have lost. So this fight is going to get a fire from me that he’s not expecting.

“The fighter you have seen in the ring before is not the same, I am a whole different person.”