Floyd Schofield Jr. overcame a knock and several in-corner readings to maintain his perfect record.
The 22-year-old rising lightweight outboxed Rene Tellez Giron over twelve rounds. Judges Tim Cheatham (118-109), Patricia Morse Jarman (116-111) and David Sutherland (118-109) scored it for Schofield in their DAZN main event Saturday from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
It was largely a showcase performance from Schofield (18-0, 12 knockouts), though not without early and late drama. He was knocked out in the last 30 seconds of the third round. Schofield was then warned by referee Thomas Taylor not to turn his back, after he complained of being hit in the back of the head.
The round ended with Schofield completely missing landing his corner chair. The one-minute break was spent by the young boxer enduring a tongue-lashing from his father and head trainer, Floyd Schofield Sr.
It clearly resonated.
Schofield has been warned to avoid a fight with Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs), who has never been stopped in 24 pro fights. He responded by holding his own throughout the fourth round and offering constant movement in the subsequent rounds.
Still, Schofield is a fighter at heart and couldn’t resist trading Tellez Giron. He was still winning rounds and was dominating the bump stats as he looked to be on his way to a lopsided victory.
“I hit him with a four piece combo,” Schofield told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “He didn’t flinch and I was like, ‘Damn.’
Tellez Giron made him sweat the last four minutes of the night. A blistering left hook, after Tellez Giron absorbed a right hand, sent Schofield to the canvas for the first time in his career late in the eleventh. Schofield beat the score and — of course — threw caution to the wind as he chose to fight.
A last ditch effort by Tellez Giron made for an entertaining 12th and final round. Schofield was easy to find as he wanted to stand and trade, rather than use his legs and let his opponent find him. This did not lead to more knockdowns, although it did, to the displeasure of Floyd Sr.
Schofield went the twelve-round distance for the first time in his four-year career. He went ten rounds in a shutout win over Haskell Rhodes last July.
“I feel really good,” Schofield. “My father wanted me to pitch and use my legs more. But I wanted to give the fans a show.”
Naturally, the focus will be on what’s next.
Given his age and development, it would be wise to develop further. Schofield has bigger dreams, namely a matchup against undefeated former three-division titleholder Shakur Stevenson.
“Everybody knows who I want,” Schofield insisted without mentioning Stevenson by name.
His team wasn’t too keen on that idea, or even its performance.
“Being a fighter myself, I give Floyd a C-minus,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Schofield’s Hall of Fame co-promoter. “He is only 22 years old. There is no rush whatsoever. He wants to fight all the top guys. But he needs to slow down a bit and go back to the drawing board.”
