Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield and his dad, Floyd Sr., say they can’t announce the match against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22nd, but they agreed to it. Schofield Sr. says DAZN and Golden Boy will be the ones that announce the fight.
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) and his dad have agreed to the percentage of the money, and looking forward to the fight with the unbeaten Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs).
Shakur’s Experience Doesn’t Matter
Experience-wise, the 22-year-old Schofield points out that fighters in the past have beaten more experienced guys, so he’s not concerned that Shakur has more fights under his belt in the pro ranks. He feels he’s going to beat him, but he’s not saying how.
We’ve already seen Shakur beaten by Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics. Robeisy used pressure and inside fighting to defeat Stevenson, who was doing a lot of running and holding in their fight eight years ago.
Edwin De Los Santos came close to beating Shakur last year in November, but the judges didn’t give him the decision. Where he went wrong is by failing to apply enough pressure. De Los Santos didn’t want to get hit.
“We can’t make the announcement. Golden Boy and DAZN got to make the announcement,” said Floyd Schofield Sr. to Cigar Talk about the fight between Kid Austin and Shakur Stevenson for February. “I can’t make an announcement, but I can say it’s about time.
“They agreed. They gave us our percentage of the money. We agreed to it. So, now it’s on them. Shakur agreed. Boxers are contractors. They work for themselves. The promoters get a percentage out of working for you. You’re the boss. You don’t work for them.
“I think the fans were in support of this fight. Everyone wanted to see because they knew Floyd was going to keep pressing. They know Shakur is a master of defense. They wanted to see if Shakur could stay away from Floyd for 12 rounds.
Hopefully, Golden Boy and DAZN will announce the fight soon because they need to start promoting this matchup. No one right now is giving Schofield a chance of winning, but maybe if he convinces people, he will have a chance during the build-up.
“I know I’m Going To Win
“Shakur didn’t have anybody else. Once Zepeda was out of there, he wasn’t going to fight Mason. He isn’t going to fight Keyshawn. The only one at 135 for him to fight that is a legitimate opponent is Kid [Austin] at #2,” said Schofield Sr.
“You got to wait until February to see,” said Kid Austin when asked how he sees his fight with Shakur playing out. “Basically, I know I’m going to win. I don’t want to talk too much crap on him because the fight is somewhat made. Wait until February.”
We already know how Schofield will fight Shakur because it’s the only way he can win. He’s going to pressure him nonstop, landing power shots and single punches. What Schofield needs to do is throw combinations when he traps Shakur and make sure he fights through the clinch because the Newark, New Jersey native is going to do a lot of holding.
“I’m confident in myself, I work hard, and I’m fighting for my son and my dad. I’ve got something to fight for. I don’t get into all of that. I do my talking in the ring. If I sense it’s for the build-up, I’ll probably mess around,” said Kid Austin.
The kid is going to have to use his power, hand speed, and pressure to wear down Shakur, who is fragile at lightweight and can’t stand in the pocket with the power punchers in this weight class. Shakur is above his ceiling by fighting at 135 because his natural habitat is 130 and 126. At lightweight, Shakur doesn’t possess the tools to fight off predators like Kid Austin, Tank Davis, and William Zepeda.
The Whole Package
“They already know. The whole package is coming. This is an amazing fight. The pop can’t shut his mouth. It’s going to be amazing,” said Schofield Sr.
The promotion will depend on Schofield Sr. and Shakur because Kid Austin sounds like a private school student when he talks. He has the Devin Haney upper-crust prep school, destined for Harvard, way of talking, and it sounds like he’s been rich for a long time.
“Whether we’re in space, it’s just me and Shakur in that ring,” said Kid Austin. “I just say there were fighters back in the day with experience that got beat.”
Schofield will have to put it on Shakur because he will try to win rounds by doing the minimum. It will be the usual low percentage output from Shakur, who will land and take off running. Even in his last fight against the light-hitting Artem Harutyunyan, Shakur used his four-foot step back when attacked. Against Kid Austin, it’s going to be extreme.
If Schofield were the A-side, he could be inside on a smaller 18-foot ring to keep Shakur from having room to run, but that’s not the case. This will be a 20-footer.
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