SAN ANTONIO, TX (July 6, 2023): Today, Golden Boy Promotions hosted a press conference at the Tobin Center and announced the new main event for Saturday, July 8 featuring Golden Boy’s hot prospect Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (14-0, 11 KOs) who will headline in his home state of Texas. Presented in association with Davies Entertainment, Schofield will face Haskell “Hackman” Rhodes (28-4-1, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a 10-round lightweight fight and defend his WBA International Title. The new main event replaces the original clash between undefeated knockout sensation Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) of Grand Prairie, Texas and World Champion Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) of Kaunas, Lithuania for Stanionis’ WBA Regular Welterweight Title. The DAZN broadcast will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT/ 5:00 p.m. PT.
In the chief supporting role, Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) will participate in a 10-round lightweight fight against Harbor City, California’s Jerry Perez (14-2-1, 11 KOs). In a spectacular unification bout, the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine World Champion Marlen Esparza (13-1, 1 KOs) of Houston, Texas will face WBO World Champion of Buenos Aires, Argentina Gabriela Alaniz (14-0, 6 KOs) in a 10-round flyweight fight. Opening the broadcast with an eight-round super welterweight fight, Romanian-American prospect Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida will square off against Reggie Harris, Jr. (7-3, 3 KOs) of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Featured in the prelims, Tristan Kalkreuth (10-1, 7 KOs) of Duncanville, Texas will fight Joe Jones (13-8,10 KOs) of Jersey City, New Jersey in a six-round cruiserweight match. Opening fight night with six-rounds of light heavyweight action, Houston’s Darius “DFG” Fulghum (5-0, 5 KOs) will fight Jeremiah Curtright (2-1, 2 KOs) of Saint Charles, Missouri.
Here is what the fighters had to say:
FLOYD “KID AUSTIN” SCHOFIELD, WBA INTERNATIONAL LIGHTWEIGHT TITLEHOLDER:
“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. 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 canceling this fight and my best wishes to Virgil Ortiz. Make sure you tune in on Saturday. It’s gonna be a good show.”
HASKELL “HACKMAN” RHODES, LIGHTWEIGHT FIGHTER:
“Just like Schofield, we’ve been training just like we’re the main event to compete against the whole card to steal the show. 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.”
MARLEN ESPARZA, WBA, WBC, AND RING MAGAZINE WORLD CHAMPION:
“I’m really excited to be here. First of all, I want to thank God and I want to thank Golden Boy for making sure that the show goes on. I hope Vergil has a quick and healthy recovery. But I’m excited to get back in the ring. I’ve defended my belts before and I’m really looking forward to getting this WBO belt. My goal is to become undisputed and this is what I need to do to get there. I understand I’m also facing a world champion. So, we’re taking this very seriously. Me and my coach, my manager James Cooper, we’ve worked really hard on making sure that we have everything done correctly. And I’m just waiting and ready to get the job done.
“I feel like it’s like any other challenge that I faced in boxing. It’s always on to the next, to the next and trying to show that I am one of the best female boxers in boxing. I’ve done everything there is to do and the WBO belt is just what’s next. I take everything extremely seriously. Boxing has been my life. And it’s everything I focus on and this is a life goal. And I’m not going to leave the ring without it.”
GABRIELA ALANIZ, WBO WORLD CHAMPION:
“I’m really happy to be here and I am ready to show everyone the kind of fighter I am. I am very excited to be able to defend my world title and be able to fight for two more world titles.
“Making history as a female boxer in Argentina is a big motivator for me. I know that I’m in a foreign land, and I’m here as a visitor, but in the ring, I feel like I’m a local, because I am where I love to be. I love to be in the ring fighting.”
JOSEPH “JOJO” DIAZ, FORMER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
“It’s a tragic situation, what’s going on with Virgil Ortiz and in his career, my condolences to him and his family. I’m gonna be praying for you brother and I wish you a quick recovery so you can come back to the ring and give the fans what they want to see and see you back in the ring.
“Also want to thank Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, for saving the show and saving this card. All of us fighters on the undercard have been working day in and day out to showcase our skills and showcase our abilities and show what we can do inside their ring. So for them to save the show for us means a lot to us.
“I’ve been training very, very hard. My career has had a lot of ups and downs, but I’ve been very focused and I feel very, very determined. I cut a lot of things out of my life that weren’t beneficial and right now I’m at my A-game. I’m really going to put on a great show, especially now that I’m the co-main event. I’m really going to whack some ass now.”
ERIC TUDOR, SUPER WELTERWEIGHT PROSPECT:
“I’m very excited to be a part of another great card. I want to thank God and Golden Boy for the opportunity. I want to thank my team for getting me ready. And, you know, I’m just very excited and looking forward to putting on another great fight Saturday, so make sure you tune in early.”
DARIUS FULGHUM, LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT:
“This is a huge opportunity to be on this card. Bernard gave a great speech; I was listening to it and it really inspired me and motivated me. We got to pivot. We make dozens of decisions in the ring and in life all the time. And so when a moment comes, we’ve got to seize it. So that’s what I’m here to do, to steal the show. And I hope everybody watching tunes in. We’re gonna put on a great show with everybody on this card.”
TRISTAN KALKREUTH, CRUISERWEIGHT PROSPECT:
“I just want to thank you all, all the fans and my team, my coaches. I’m just very humbled and grateful to be here and just following up on what Bernard said, as a fighter we have a simple job. It is to prepare, train, and fight. I just hope everybody tunes in to this fight. All Glory to God.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
“The health of the fighter is the most important. We are all in Vergil’s corner, wishing him the very best possible recovery and will wait for him with open arms and ready for when he wishes to come back to the ring. Vergil, with the help of his dad, has the potential to be a world champion.
“Thank you to DAZN and all our partners for helping us make sure the show goes on. This has opened up the opportunity for Golden Boy’s top prospect, Floyd Schofield, to accelerate his profile by headlining in his home state of Texas. Floyd will face Haskell Rhodes in a 10-round fight for the WBA International title.”
BERNARD HOPKINS, HALL OF FAMER AND GOLDEN BOY PARTNER:
“We lost the main event, of course we’re not happy about it, you’re not happy about it, but his health is most important. But also what’s important is that the fighters to my right and to my left see that adjustments have to be made. It’s no different than life, no different than in the ring, things happen that you can’t control.
“So the fighters here, the future champions, are watching. They might not say anything to us, but they are watching to see how we react as promoters. See how we pivot, to how we adjust, just like in the ring. Sometimes you gotta make those adjustments, the adjustments that need to be made on the promoter-side to save the show.
“And so again, this is an opportunity for those who were waiting to be showcased, for those who want to be the main event to get the chance to be the star of the night, of the show. So this is an opportunity for everybody that’s up on stage, that’s going to fight, to learn as a lesson that first, health is more important. Your safety is more important.”
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Schofield vs. Rhodes is a 10-round fight for the WBA International Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Davies Entertainment. The event is sponsored by BetOnline, “Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, July 8 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.
Fans can purchase tickets at a discounted price for $150, $75, $37.50, $35, and $25 not including applicable service charges. Tickets will be available for purchase at ticketmaster.com or by using the Ticketmaster App on your mobile device. More information on ticket refunds will be shared as soon as possible.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #StanionisOrtiz
About the AT&T Center
The premier entertainment venue in South Texas, the AT&T Center is the home of the San Antonio Spurs (NBA) and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. The Bexar County-owned arena has also hosted hundreds of concerts and special events since opening in 2002 and underwent a $110+ million renovation in 2015 to enhance the fan experience at all levels. For more information go to ATTCenter.com.
