On social media, Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya confirmed that his fighter, Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield, will face Shakur Stevenson for his WBC lightweight crown. Shakur responded to De La Hoya’s message and told him he was coming for his other highly rated fighter, William Zepeda, after defeating Schofield.
18-foot ring?
Oscar didn’t say anything in his post on X about whether he would push for a smaller 18-foot ring to ensure Shakur doesn’t run around all night and play away to prevent the explosive puncher Schofield from landing any powerful shots. If it’s a 24-foot ring, it will be nearly impossible for Schofield to land without being as fleet-footed as Shakur.
The good news is that De La Hoya has given undefeated knockout artist Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) the green light to take on Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) in what is expected to be one of the most entertaining fights on the 22 February Riyadh Season Card.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) will be a tough fight for Shakur as he cuts off the ring well, has an excellent jab, and focuses more on body shots than trying to connect on top. Shakur’s bread and butter is moving his head to avoid getting hit, but he can’t do anything to avoid getting hit to the body. Zepeda uses a jab in the middle of his opponents when they try to run.
We saw it in his fights with Giovanni Cabrera, Maxi Hughes and Tevin Farmer. When those guys tried to move, Zepeda forced them to stand still by landing hard body shots with the front hand, like a power shot.
“Unjudged” for a dog fight
It is almost impossible for fighters to move when they are hit hard to the body. This forces them to stand and fight, which could be a disaster for Shakur because he is underequipped to stand and dogfight with Zepeda or the 22-year-old Schofield.
Finally you talk some sense, Him first then I knock Zepeda down next 🦾 sorry in advance my guy you are a legend to me in the boxing ring!! https://t.co/SIQhmyjyRe
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 2, 2024
