Promoter Eddie Hearn congratulates himself for finding fringe contender Josh Padley as the replacement opponent for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to defend against this Saturday night on the DAZN PPV card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Hearn’s “Great Save” (lol)
Hearn calls his selection of Padley (15-0, 4 KOs) one of “The great saves” because it keeps Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) on Saturday’s card. Interestingly, British fans love this choice, which shows how different their tastes are from Americans’. Padley’s career resume is beyond horrible, filled with ham & eggers from top to bottom. It’s shockingly bad.
This guy is easily the worst possible opponent that could be picked from the top 15, and Hearn is padding himself on the back for finding him.
U.S. fans on social media don’t have the same enthusiasm as Hearn, viewing the 29-year-old Padley as a terrible choice for Shakur and unworthy of being used even as an opponent for one of the upper-level contenders. You can’t match Padley against any of the top five contenders and expect him to see the final bell.
Padley’s Resume: Empty
– Mark Chamberlain (16-0)
– Conner Lee Doherty (5-2)
– Lydon Chircop (6-0)
– Clayton Bricknell (4-8-1)
– Victor Julio (16-7)
– Jimmy First (14-0)
– Mark Butler (2-3)
“This is one of the great saves because 99% of the time, with a normal team, ‘You’re going home. You’re not fighting,’ and all the hard work has been wasted, and I was not going to let Shakur Stevenson down,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing, padding himself on the back for selecting fringe contender Josh Padley as the replacement opponent for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to fight this Saturday night in Riyadh.
“We got him back, and we delivered massively. I’m pleased that Josh [Padley] gets that massive life-changing opportunity. I’m really pleased seeing a pound-for-pound great, Shakur Stevenson, still fighting on Saturday. Shakur never believed the fight would take place. All I know is the kid [Schofield] was in the hospital yesterday, and the [British Boxing] Board [of Control] pulled him out. Are they going to let a kid in the hospital fight? Not a chance. No commission in the world.”
Building His “Legacy”
I don’t know how Hearn could have this kind of enthusiasm for such a poor choice of opponent for Shakur. Of course, if the idea is to make Shakur look like a priceless emerald gem to improve his chances of getting the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fight, Padley is 100% the way to go. Feed Shakur a stiff, make him look good, and then call out Tank Davis afterward. It’s all so predictable.
I don’t know why Turki Alalshikh agreed to this. He should have insisted that Shakur fight an A-level contender to stay on Saturday’s card. Stevenson-Padley isn’t even sporting. This is the type of opponent that Shakur would have faced in his first pro fight, but not with him campaigning for the Tank Davis payday.
“Shakur is a top five pound-for-pound. He’s fighting a guy [Josh Padley] that is British European level, but at least you’ve got a Brit that is coming in and will give it 110% and go for it every single round,” said Hearn.
Last Updated on 02/19/2025
