Shakur Stevenson was up in arms when retired former world champion Antonio Tarver said Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield would be a “great fight” for him to test to see how he does before facing Gervonta Davis.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) said Tarver should not compare the 22-year-old Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) to “the elites“, meaning himself. Shakur points out that Schofield’s muscles don’t mean he has punching power.
Schofield looked powerful with the punches he landed on Mexican fighter Rene Tellez Giron on Saturday night in their fight in Las Vegas. The punches Schofield landed in that fight would have done damage to anyone in the 135 lb division, including Shakur.
Shakur Stevenson: “What kind of (stuff) is he smoking? He’s comparing the kid (Schofield) to the elite. You can’t compare mediocre skills to elite-level skills, and just because you’ve got the muscles doesn’t mean you’ve got the power Shakur said. Xreacts to Antonio Tarver saying he should fight Floyd Schofield to see how he does against him before facing Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
Antonio Tarver to I’m out Breezy: “If Shakur can handle the miniature tank (Floyd Schofield), he should be ready for the full Tank (Gervonta Davis), and with the kid’s style, he’ll give us a good look at Davis-Stevenson.
The reality is that the 27-year-old Shakur has not proven that he is an elite fighter during his seven-year pro career. He looks average since moving up to 135 in 2023. Shakur is not an elite level fighter, and he is not even an A level fighter based on his lightweight performance.
His best win at lightweight was against Edwin Delos Santos last year on November 16, and this was very questionable because he was moving non-stop, trying to get away from the knockout artist. It was a very poor performance from Shakur, who was loudly booed by the fans at ringside that night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In Shakur’s last fight against Artem Harutyunyan on July 6, his promoters at Top Rank matched him with a weak puncher coming off a loss and a long layoff. He always fought poorly, showing no willingness to engage.
The crowd started booing and left the Prudential Center arena for the sixth time, unhappy with what they were watching from Shakur, the fighter from the hometown of Newark, New Jersey. This lackluster performance by Shakur solidified that he is not anything close to an elite level fighter. The fight showed that Shakur lacked the style to entertain fans due to his lack of power and laid back approach to his fights. He will not engage, even against a weak puncher like Harutyunyan.
Schofield Sr., the father of “Kid Austin,” posted his refutation to Shakur’s comment, saying, “You’re not elite. You’re a second-rate Olympian (Note: Shakur lost in Cuba Robey Ramirez in the final of the 2016 Olympics) who fought all the taxi drivers. What fight was your fight for “elite?”
Shakur does not belong in this era
Floyd Sr. it is 100% correct that Shakur is not an elite fighter because he has not tried, and he is a prime example of a deluded person who lives in an imaginary world, seeing things in himself that do not exist. Shakur doesn’t belong in this era of sports. It is a return to the past It was Mayweather before the Internet, cable television, and other combat sports.
In this era, a fighter must have an entertaining style to attract interest and not ruin things for his promoters with his network deals. Shakur’s style would have been tolerated in the ancient past, but now. You have to have fun and he is unable to do that. Schofield has a better style to entertain the fans and become a star in this era.
William Zepeda will likely finish Shakur when they fight on February 22nd in Riyadh. Zepeda is a rising star in the lightweight division with a fighting style that is fan-friendly and one that could make him a huge PPV attraction with a knockout win over Shakur.
