It seems footage of Oscar De La Hoya‘s latest ‘Clap Back Thursday’ has been withdrawn. It will be some time before the reasons behind the move become clear. Nevertheless, a few clips from the Olympic gold medalist’s increasingly popular show appear to have survived. In an Instagram post, Shakur Stevenson shared the segment where De La Hoya criticized him for calling out Golden Boy Promotions’ upcoming prospect, Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield.

The WBC lightweight champion made it clear—he never called out Schofield. Soon fans and followers joined in, sharing their thoughts on the developments that have become the talk of the town. Roughly a year ago, Stevenson became a world champion for the third time. Six months later, he returned for the first title defense against Artem Harutyunyan. A second title defense against Joe Cordina on the Beterbiev-Bivol card appeared on the horizon. However, Stevenson’s hand injury prompted the cancelation. Ever since discussions about his next outing became a constant fixture.

Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield: A matchup conundrum

“Oscar Dela Protection program!!” said the Newark-born Southpaw. In the ‘Thursday Clap Back’, Oscar De La Hoya highlighted how the proposed matchup between Shakur Stevenson and his number one ranked contender, William Zepeda, for a February face-off caved in. The Mexican fighter had injured his hands during the latest bout against Tevin Farmer.

So ‘The Golden Boy’ contended—a natural line of thought would suggest Stevenson opting for the next range of challengers, like Frank Martin or Raymond Muratalla or any other world champion. However, instead of following that route, he zeroed in on Floyd Schofield. “No Shakur and lonesome Eddie made an offer to my 22-year-old prospect Kid Austin, who has no world championship experience,” said De La Hoya.

Then he took aim at Eddie Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing now promotes Shakur Stevenson. But the lightweight champion insisted, “And I never called on that lil dude to fight that dude; I said my name over and over until I couldn’t take it no more and had to check these soft ni**as temperature.”

The Bold Risks and The Backlash

Quite a few fans were miffed as they saw Oscar De La Hoya putting the blame on Shakur Stevenson for calling out ‘Kid Austin.’ Let’s check what they had to say.

This fan slammed De La Hoya, “Wow, what a f**king clown.” They felt that perhaps Floyd Schofield wanted to fight Shakur Stevenson. Hence, he should be applauded for calling out Stevenson. Highlighting how De La Hoya may be avoiding the matchup, the fan added, “Kid Austin really wants that fight, and he should be applauded for taking that risk so early in his career. How many of his boxers is going to keep away from Shakur? I’m not even mad at Zepeda anymore; I’m sure it’s Oscar’s hatin’ a**”.

The next fan also appreciated ‘Kid Austin’. But they felt that he has yet to reach a level in the sport. A place from where he can call the shots. “Honestly, I respect Kid Austin for having the courage to take risks, but he’s not a generational talent, so he will need at least 3-4 years to grow into a real polished and mature fighter,” the fan said. Even seasoned boxers were pacing themselves despite their skill and experience. “Even more skilled guys who are older with legit amateur pedigree like Keyshawn Davis and Andy Cruz are pacing themselves and taking their time.”

The following user discovered a glaring loophole in Oscar De La Hoya’s argument against Shakur Stevenson. “I mean, Oscar’s 22-year-old prospect argument is a bit silly when Shakur was a world champ at Kid’s age,” they said.

But a few De La Hoya supporters soon joined. Shakur Stevenson’s attempts to pull off a fight against Floyd Schofield sounded too frivolous to them. “He’s 100% right. Shakur trying to fight a prospect who hasn’t had any championship-level fights is straight-up goofy,” said one user.

The next follower panned Schofield’s father. Reportedly he claimed that his son would knock out Shakur Stevenson. “Weakest shit ever! His daddy says he can knock Kur out; let’s see it!!! We don’t want to hear that scary-ass shit now,” said this follower.

It seems Shakur Stevenson had thrown a challenge to ‘Kid Austin’. To earn a fight against him, he would have to pass through Abdullah Mason.

Additionally, a few reports suggest Eddie Hearn had reached out to the Golden Boy promotions with an offer for the Stevenson-Schofield matchup. Nevertheless, the situation might seem confusing for many due to the back and forth. What fans really want to know is whether Shakur Stevenson would return to the ring in February with a major fight lined up.

What’s your take? Drop your thoughts below on ‘Kid Austin’s risk-taking and who Shakur Stevenson should face next.