Floyd Schofield's father makes complete 180-degree turn after accusing Shakur Stevenson of poisoning his son ahead of now-canceled fight

By Johny Payne

Modified Feb 20, 2025 13:13 GMT

Shakur Stevenson (left) and Floyd Schofield Jr. (right) were expected to clash for the WBC lightweight belt [Images courtesy: Getty Images]

Floyd Schofield Jr.'s father, Floyd Schofield Sr., initially suggested that Shakur Stevenson and his team orchestrated the alleged poisoning of Schofield Jr. and the cancellation of the Stevenson vs. Schofield fight. Well, Schofield Sr. has now seemingly made a complete 180-degree turn on his poisoning allegations and expressed gratitude toward Stevenson.

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson was booked to defend his title against fellow undefeated American pugilist Floyd Schofield Jr. on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 22, 2025.

However, Schofield Jr. was hospitalized during fight week. The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) then ruled out the hospitalized Schofield from the fight.

In a since-deleted tweet, Schofield Sr. accused Stevenson and the Victor Conte-helmed SNAC Nutrition, who've shared a business association with Stevenson, of poisoning his son. Schofield Sr. subsequently posted footage of his son from a hospital bed. The video's caption saw him jibe at Stevenson's punching power:

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"As a parent I am overwhelmed. People can be cruel and evil. The come back will be major. NO ONE DUCK a FIGHT WITH MR. PILLOW HANDS!!! Thank you to the Excellency for their great hospitality. Hopefully in the future we can talk. Right now the focus is my son. All my prayers warriors, send prays please."

Check out the video of Schofield Jr. and Schofield Sr.'s statement posted as a caption in the video below:

Floyd Schofield Sr. then posted a screen recording of what seemed to be a social media message/draft, which implied that his son had converted to Islam during their current trip to Saudi Arabia. Lauding His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season hospitality, Schofield Sr. also clarified that Stevenson had nothing to do with Schofield Jr.'s alleged poisoning. Schofield Sr. wrote:

"Allah is good! Thank you to Your Excellency for taking care of my son. We are indebted to you and your staff. Thank you @shakurstevenson for the opportunity; I am sorry we were not able to share the ring ... hopefully in the future. We do not believe you played part in this. We still respect you and wish you well in your up and coming fight. Thank you @oscardelahoya and @goldenboy for the opportunity. #boxingnews #boxingworld #boxingfans."

Check out Schofield Sr.'s Instagram post below:

Floyd Schofield Jr.'s father Floyd Schofield Sr.'s poisoning accusation against Shakur Stevenson

Floyd Schofield Sr. has signaled that his son is recovering well. Meanwhile, Stevenson defends his WBC lightweight championship against Josh Padley on Feb. 22. Schofield Jr.'s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, notably tweeted that he's been released from the hospital.

Per Bad Left Hook, Floyd Schofield Sr. has claimed that he knows the truth about what befell his son and that the toxicology reports would shed light on it. Nevertheless, the consensus is that Schofield Sr. withdrew the poisoning allegations against Stevenson to avoid possibly being sued.

SNAC head honcho Victor Conte took to X and scoffed at Schofield Sr.'s eventually retracted allegations against the organization and Stevenson. Furthermore, Ben Doughty re-posted a screenshot of Schofield Sr.'s accusatory tweet in a Facebook post. The elder Schofield's now-deleted tweet read: