Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield and his father, Floyd Sr., say they can’t announce the match against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22, but they have accepted. Schofield Sr. says DAZN and Golden Boy will be the ones announcing the fight.
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) and his father have agreed to a percentage of the money, and are looking forward to the fight with the undefeated Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs).
Shakur’s Experience doesn’t matter
As for experience, the 22-year-old Schofield points out that fighters in the past have beaten more experienced guys, so he’s not worried that Shakur has more fights under his belt in the pro ranks. He feels he’s going to beat him, but he doesn’t say how.
We have already seen Shakur beat by the Cuban Robeisy Ramirez in the Olympics of 2016. Robeisy used pressure and internal struggle to defeat Stevenson, who was doing a lot of running and holding in his fight eight years ago.
Edwin De Los Santos came close to beating Shakur last year in November, but the judges did not give the decision. Where he went wrong was by failing to apply enough pressure. De Los Santos did not want to be hit.
“We can’t make the announcement. Golden Boy and DAZN have to make the announcement,” said Floyd Schofield Sr. 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 time.
“They agreed. They gave us our percentage of the money. We agreed. So, now it’s up to them. Shakur agreed. Boxers are contractors. They work for themselves. The promoters get a percentage to work for you. You are the boss. Don’t work for them.
“I think the fans were in support of this fight. They all wanted to see because they knew Floyd was going to keep pressing. They knew 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 will start promoting this matchup. No one now gives Schofield a chance to win, 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 there, he wasn’t going to fight Mason. He wasn’t going to fight Keyshawn. The only one at 135 for him to fight that’s a legitimate opponent is Kid (Austin) at the 2,” Schofield Sr. said.
“You’ll have to wait until February to see,” Kid Austin said 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 about him because the fight is kind of done. Wait until February.”
We already know how Schofield will fight Shakur because that’s the only way to win. He will pressure him non-stop, attacking with power moves and single shots. What Schofield has 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 am confident in myself, working hard, and I fight for my son and my father. I have something to fight for. I do not have all this. I speak in the ring. If I feel that it is for the accumulation, probably I i’ll be kidding,” Kid Austin said.
The kid has to use his power, hand speed and pressure to wear down Shakur, who is fragile at lightweight and can’t stay in the pocket with power punchers in this weight class. Shakur is above his ceiling fighting at 135 because his natural habitat is 130 and 126. At lightweight, Shakur does not have the tools to fight predators like Kid Austin, Tank Davis and William Zepeda.
The whole package
“They already know. The whole pack is coming. This is an incredible fight. Pop can’t shut up. It’s going to be amazing,” Schofield Sr. said.
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 higher preparatory schooldestined for Harvard, so to speak, and it seems that he has been rich for a long time.
“We’re in space, it’s just me and Shakur in that ring,” Kid Austin said. “I’m just saying there were fighters back in the day with experience who got beat.”
Schofield will have to put on Shakur because he will try to win rounds by doing the least. It will be the usual low percentage production from Shakur, who will land and land on the run. Even in his last fight against Artem Harutyunyan, Shakur used his four foot step back when he was attacked. Against Kid Austin, it will be extreme.
If Schofield was the A side, he might be in a smaller 18-foot ring to prevent Shakur from having room to run, but that’s not the case. This will be a 20-footer.
