Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela believes Floyd Schofield’s camp is looking for a way around him, with the new WBA lightweight champion’s father calling for an Abdullah Mason unification in Texas early next year.

“Here we go .. they’re running the other way,” Valenzuela posted on X in response to the Mason callout.

Rayo has been seeking a shot at Schofield, but he may be out of luck if he expects the WBA to force the fight. His public request for the organization to intervene is not the same as an order requiring Schofield to face him.

Schofield Sr. offered Mason a January or February date during an interview with BandsNBoxing.

“If you want a fight, y’all can run it next,” he said. “Send the contract. Tell your bosses to send the contract to Golden Boy. Let’s make it happen then.”

He proposed San Antonio or Austin, Texas, adding: “Y’all already know it’s two belts on the line.”

That second belt gives Mason something Rayo cannot offer. Mason has also shown enough vulnerability to make him a target for Schofield’s camp. They may see a chance to collect the WBO title against a talented young champion whose defensive flaws offer openings.

Rayo falls into the “who needs him?” club: a former champion capable of spoiling plans without bringing another lightweight belt. Beating him would satisfy a challenger. Beating Mason would make Schofield a unified champion.

Schofield had enough trouble getting past Lucas Bahdi in his last fight to make another difficult assignment worth considering carefully. He won, but the performance hardly suggested he could take an opponent like Valenzuela lightly.

Rayo’s accusation puts that choice in public view. Whether it gets him any closer to a title shot depends on the WBA. If the organization approves a Mason unification, calling Schofield out may be all Valenzuela can do while the two champions pursue each other.

Rico Verhoeven has accepted an offer to fight Deontay Wilder on December 11, potentially adding another heavyweight bout to the Tyson Fury–Anthony Joshua undercard in Cardiff.

Wilder’s response is still outstanding, and the terms need to be negotiated. However, Verhoeven has made his willingness clear as he looks to continue boxing after his stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk.

“I can’t confirm just yet,” Verhoeven told talkSPORT. “What I can tell you is that they offered me the fight. They offered me Deontay Wilder. I said yes.”

“The details need to be talked about still. But for that, I’m waiting on a response. So, if there’s a yes from the other side, it’s going to happen.”

Verhoeven did not identify who made the offer. His comments introduce another possible opponent for Wilder, who had been linked with a fight against Jai Opetaia on the same card.

Wilder would give Verhoeven an opportunity to turn the praise he received against Usyk into a victory over an established heavyweight. Going deep into a fight with Usyk earned him attention, but beating Wilder would give him something firmer to build on.

There is an obvious danger in treating Wilder as a faded name to collect. His right hand still gives Verhoeven a reason to be careful. Yet Wilder’s reduced activity and hesitant offense in recent performances could allow the Dutchman time to settle into the fight.

Verhoeven also made clear that he intends to remain in boxing after considering several offers.

“I want to make a statement,” he said. “I want to show that … I am able to transition into the sport of boxing.”

Peter Fury remains in his corner, and Verhoeven is already looking beyond the proposed December appearance. He hopes Joshua beats Fury because he wants that fight himself.

“I hope that Anthony Joshua’s winning that fight because then I’m next for him.”

Beating Wilder would give that ambition a stronger foundation. First, Wilder needs to accept.

Putting Wilder against Verhoeven spares Jai Opetaia a bizarre heavyweight detour that threatened to derail his cruiserweight meeting with David Benavidez. That alone makes it slightly more tolerable than the initial rumor, but it remains a carnival booking.

Wilder has looked completely spent for years. At 40, his trigger is hesitant, his balance is compromised, and the reflex to pull the trigger on his right hand has eroded. Grinding past an aging Derek Chisora by a 12-round split decision did not erase the one-sided beatings he took against Joseph Parker, Fury, or Zhilei Zhang.

Verhoeven, 37, proved his toughness by surviving into the eleventh round against Oleksandr Usyk, but surviving is not contending. He is an elite kickboxer with a tiny boxing resume, still learning basic ring craftsmanship under boxing rules.

Sticking two aging names together with mismatched pedigrees belongs on the preliminary streaming portion of the broadcast, not sharing equal billing right beneath Fury against Joshua. It caters to novelty rather than sport.

Frank Warren still views Daniel Dubois against Fabio Wardley as a 50-50 fight heading into Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Even though Dubois won their violent clash in May, Wardley dropped him in the first and third rounds, proving his power can alter the course of the bout instantly.

Dubois weathered that storm to secure the stoppage, yet those early visits to the canvas give Wardley massive confidence that he can flip the script. The real challenge for Wardley will be finishing the job if he gets Dubois in trouble again.

“I just feel that either of them can win. I think it’s still an even-money fight,” Warren told talkSPORT. “Daniel will go as favorite because he’s probably … got more experience as amateur as well as pro.”

Surviving clean bombs once does not guarantee Dubois can take them a second time. At the same time, reckless aggression could cost either man dearly.

“You’ve got to remember he called for this rematch,” Warren said of Wardley. “It was a brutal fight in May, and here we are now, and it’s on, and he believes that he can win it.”

Warren believes victory hinges on establishing the jab instead of hunting for wild knockout blows right away. For Dubois, a sharp jab keeps Wardley on the outside and stops him from landing cold early.

“For me, the key to this fight is getting behind the jab,” Warren said. “Not looking to lead with big punches, to actually go out and try and … jab and then let your shots go.”

Both heavyweights know what to expect after their first battle. The winner will be the man who made the right adjustments and capitalizes on them first. Neither fighter is built to play it safe, which is why Warren expects another explosive finish before the final bell sounds. Dubois proved his resilience, Wardley proved his firepower, and both step into the ring knowing one clean shot can end it.

When promoters preach boxing fundamentals and patience for a high-profile rematch, they are usually trying to protect their fighters from another grueling brawl. The problem is that fans are paying for fireworks, not a tactical chess match.

“They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Warren said. “It’s who’s learned from the last fight and who can exploit what he’s learned.”

If Dubois and Wardley actually listen to Warren and spend 36 minutes trading cautious jabs from ring center, public reaction will be brutal. Paying premium pay-per-view prices on DAZN just to watch two sluggers neutralize each other behind the lead hand is the exact opposite of what made their May fight thrilling.

“I don’t think the fight’s going to go the distance, whatever happens.”

The thin undercard makes that risk even worse. Here, there is zero safety net. If the headliner devolves into a safety-first sparring session, the whole broadcast will disappoint, and the backlash from paying customers will land squarely on Warren.