Unbeaten lightweight Floyd Schofield Jnr has suffered a sprained right wrist with minor ligament damage, forcing him to withdraw from his planned November 8 co-main event in Fort Worth, Texas, versus former super featherweight champion Joseph Diaz Jnr.
The 23-year-old Schofield, 19-0 (13 KOs), ranked No. 1 by the WBA and No. 3 by the IBF, was to fight on the DAZN-streamed card under the 154lbs main event pitting unbeaten WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jnr versus former title challenger Erickson Lubin.
Golden Boy Promotions announced Schofield’s injury days after reports trickled on social media. The promoter reported his decision not to fight was based on “medical evaluation and on the advice of his team,” which includes his trainer-father.
The November 8 card also features super middleweight Darius Fulghum 14-1 (12 KOs), versus David Stevens, 15-2 (10 KOs), and Amari Jones, 14-0 (12 KOs), versus middleweight Shady Gamhour, 14-2 (9 KOs).
Schofield impressively knocked out former super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer in his most recent fight on June 28 on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr card in Anaheim, California.
Schofield had been subjected to some ridicule for selecting Diaz, 32, since the former champion has lost seven of his past nine fights while struggling with addiction issues.
In February, Schofield withdrew from fighting WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson with an illness while in Saudi Arabia, where the bout was to take place.
Schofield is ranked behind WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, and is first in line currently behind new IBF champion Raymond Muratalla and No. 1 contender Andy Cruz, whose future bout will be promoted by Matchroom following a winning purse bid last week.
