On social media, Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya confirmed that his fighter, Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield, will face Shakur Stevenson for his WBC lightweight crown. Shakur responded to De La Hoya’s message, telling him that he’s coming for his other highly ranked fighter, William Zepeda, after he defeats Schofield.
18-Foot Ring?
Oscar didn’t say anything in his post on X about whether he will insist on a smaller 18-foot ring to ensure that Shakur doesn’t run around all night, playing keep-away to prevent the explosive puncher Schofield from landing any powerful shots. If it’s a 24-foot ring, it’ll be next to impossible for Schofield to land without being as fleet-footed as Shakur.
The good news is De La Hoya has given the unbeaten knockout artist Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) the greenlight to face Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) in a fight that is expected to be one of the most entertaining on the February 22nd Riyadh Season card.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) would be a tough fight for Shakur because he cuts off the ring well, has an excellent jab, and focuses more on body shots than trying to connect upstairs. Shakur’s bread & butter is moving his head to avoid getting hit, but he can’t do anything to avoid getting hit to the body. Zepeda uses a spearing jab to the midsection of his opponents when they try running.
We saw that in his fights with Giovanni Cabrera, Maxi Hughes, and Tevin Farmer. When those guys attempted to move, Zepeda forced them to be stationary by landing hard body shots with the lead hand, like a power shot.
“Underequipped” For A Dog Fight
It’s next to impossible for fighters to move when hit hard to the body. It forces them to stand and fight, which could be a disaster for Shakur because he’s underequipped to stand and have a dog fight with Zepeda or the 22-year-old Schofield.
Finally u talking some sense, Him first then I knock Zepeda off next 🦾 sorry in advance my guy u are a legend to me in the boxing ring!! https://t.co/SIQhmyjyRe
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 2, 2024
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