“Shakur would never fight Kid, just like Tank would never fight Kid,” Schofield Sr. said MillCity Boxing.
Schofield Sr. insisted his criticism was not personal towards Shakur and argued that fighters at the top of the sport are simply chasing bigger paydays in higher divisions instead of putting on dangerous fights for less money at lightweight.
“They got bigger fights at 140 for 20 million, 15 million,” Schofield Sr. said. “Why waste down here where they have the potential to get knocked out for a lot less money?”
Most of Schofield Sr. ‘s argument involved Shakur’s lack of knockout power and whether he could keep an aggressive pressure punch off him for 12 rounds.
“Shakur only got 11 strikeouts,” Schofield Sr. said. “There’s no way he’s going to fight someone like Kid and survive 12 rounds.”
Schofield Sr believes his son’s combination of speed, movement and power will create big problems for Stevenson stylistically.
“How would he get a power puncher like Kid that moves and speed off him?” Schofield Sr. said. “It would be the wrong style for Shakur.”
Schofield Sr. has also criticized what he sees as modern matchmaking in boxing, arguing that too many fighters avoid tough opponents to protect undefeated records and maximize earnings.
“There’s no way you can build a legacy that runs scary, picks fighters,” Schofield Sr. said. said.
Stevenson has recently been linked to possible future fights against Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis, while Schofield continues to build his profile at lightweight.
Shakur also has a built-in defense against criticism of never fighting Schofield, as the two were already scheduled to fight on February 22, 2025, before Schofield was pulled from the bout during fight week in Riyadh around February 18-19.
Stevenson later questioned whether Schofield was fully prepared for the bout, while Schofield’s team insisted the withdrawal was linked to medical issues and the commission’s decision to remove him from the card.
