Floyd Schofield Sr. said in an interview tonight that the fight between his son, Kid Austin, and WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson will be announced on Monday, December 2nd, in Saudi Arabia for the February 22nd card in Riyadh.
Official On Monday
Schofield Sr. states that the Shakur-Kid Austin fight will be announced by the time the U.S. fans wake up on Monday morning tomorrow. He says it’s a “done deal,” and Golden Boy and the network have agreed on it.
Social media fans are still in disbelief that the fight will happen, but we’ll see tomorrow if Floyd Sr. is serious about it being a done deal.
Oscar De La Hoya said that he felt Schofield needed more experience before taking on the three-division world champion Shakur, who is older and has been fighting in the pro ranks longer. He’s fought better opposition, and he’s an Olympic silver medalist.
Schofield Sr. is in a hurry to fight with Shakur, and he will find out the hard way that he may not be happy with the outcome of this match. He didn’t say the purse for Kid Austin, but it’s likely a couple of million. For Schofield Sr. to be this eager, it’s got to be by far the biggest payday of Floyd Jr’s career.
Seeking The Knockout
“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 about his fight with Shakur Stevenson official for February 22nd in Riyadh.
“I commend him for keeping his word. It’s going to be a great fight,” said Floyd Sr. about Shakur keeping his word to fight Kid Austin. “De Los Santos was flat-footed. ‘Kid’ is not flat-footed. Our goal is to knock him out.
“I don’t think they’ll give it to us on the cards. So, our goal is to strategically knock him out. We’re excited because no matter what people say, ‘Kid’s not ready.’ Kid has got a puncher’s chance, and everybody knows Kid can crack.”
For Schofield Sr. to be in a big rush to make the fight with Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs), it’s a strong signal that this is just about money because he’s not fought any contenders during his four-year pro career.
He should have had Kid Austin fighting top 15 contenders to help prepare him to fight for a world title, but they’ve cut corners. Schofield will still have the power, youth, and speed advantage over Shakur. If he can walk through Stevenson’s pinpoint shots to land something big, he’s got a chance. It will be hard to catch up to Shakur without getting caught.
“That’s all he needs. Shakur has got to pitch a flawless performance for 12 rounds. All we need to do is connect one or two times to that chin, and it’s a done deal. So, we’re happy about this,” said Schofield Sr.
Kid Austin does not possess one-punch power. He hits hard, but he kids most of his knockouts from landing an accumulation of blows during fights that stretch into the second half. The thing is, Schofield hasn’t fought any top-tier opposition, and yet he’s been unable to score quick knockouts.
“We seen his [Shakur] last fight. How much growth did we see? His hand got hurt. I don’t see him getting more knockouts. So, his knockout percentage didn’t grow. Did he become more skillful?” said Schofield Sr. about Shakur.
Stevenson obviously isn’t designed to fight at lightweight. He hit his ceiling when he fought at featherweight [126], and he doesn’t possess the kind of power to hurt fighters at 135. But that won’t matter because Kid Austin isn’t a big knockout puncher, and the only way he can win is by decision. He’s not going to be able to land often enough to KO Shakur.
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