The Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield Jr. fight is expected to be announced today in Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Season event on February 22nd. Floyd Sr. said in an interview on Sunday that his son, Kid Austin’s fight with WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) will be announced in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Fight Confirmed
Schofield Sr. said it was a “done deal,” and they signed the contract for the fight with Stevenson. He also has signed his. So, that fight will be one of several interesting matches on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s February 22nd card.
Fans see this as a mismatch in favor of Shakur, and they see Schofield Sr. and Kid Austin as thirsty. The way they’ve gotten this fight is not the normal method. They took the backdoor route to a title shot by fighting tomato cans and steering clear of talented contenders.
Floyd Sr. believed Kid Austin could outbox Shakur, but he admitted that he would probably need a knockout to win.
The other big fight in the event is the rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. As far as the rest of the fights, most of them are merely good but not great.
“They’re making an announcement in their country [Saudi Arabia], it should be broadcast. It’s a done deal. Everything is good,” said Floyd Schofield Sr. to Punsh Drunk Boxing, talking about the Shakur Stevenson vs. Kid Austin fight.
“Part of his growth is going through this fire. Can you imagine when he’s 25 or 27,” said Schofield Sr., justifying his son taking this risky fight that he was unprepared for. “Kid is going to put on a performance. What happens if we knock Shakur out? What are they going to say then?
“We don’t know because Shakur is gifted. He might just have to outbox Shakur,” said Floyd Sr. when asked what round Schofield Jr. will knockout Stevenson. “We got to see what Shakur is going to bring because I don’t think Shakur is coming there to lay down.”
Maybe Schofield improve if Shakur beats him, but it’s impossible to say because he’s not fought anyone good yet. His last opponent, Rene Tellez Giron, decked him in the 11th and landed a lot. He’s not a contender.
“Kid Will Get Him”
“He doesn’t want to give up his belts to Kid. So, he’s going to come in throwing some cannons,” said Schofield Sr. about Shakur. “I don’t know what round, but I guarantee you, Kid is going to get him. I was contemplating Floyd beating him all 12 rounds and then giving his belt back just to say, ‘We don’t care about that s***.’ No, we’re going to take that belt home.”
Kid Austin will land some of his big shots sooner or later on Shakur, but it’s not likely that he’s going to land enough of them to score a knockout or win a decision. That’s the problem.
“This is like another day for Kid. ‘Oh, I’m going in with Shakur. I’m going to knock him out.’ Kid would be more amazed with Tank Davis,” said Floyd Sr. “He wants to fight Tank. He’s like, ‘Shakur ain’t got no power. It’s going to be boring. I got to chase him all night.’
“That’s his view. ‘I’m going to have to chase this dude all night,’ because he’s not going to bring it to Kid. Once he feels Kid’s power, his a** is out of there.’ They don’t understand what a loss can do for a fighter. They can regrow and become a better version of themselves,” said Schofield Sr, making it seem like a good thing that Kid Austin is doomed to defeat.
Floyd Sr. doesn’t see it as a bad thing for his son, Kid Austin, to potentially lose to Shakur. He feels that it’ll be a good learning tool for him. He points out that Canelo Alvarez improved after he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier in his career. Canelo was 23, around the same age as the 22-year-old Schofield.
The difference is that Canelo was dominating his opposition, looking like a superstar. Schofield hasn’t fought any world-class opposition yet and looked poor, beating a non-contender in his last fight.
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