Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield and his father, Floyd Sr., say they can’t announce the fight against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22, but they have agreed to it. Schofield Sr. says DAZN and Golden Boy will be the ones announcing the fight.
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) and his father agreed to the 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
Experience-wise, the 22-year-old Schofield points out that fighters have beaten more experienced guys in the past, so he’s not worried about Shakur having more fights in the pro ranks. He feels he’s going to hit him, but he doesn’t say how.
We already saw how Shakur was beaten by Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics. Robeisy used pressure and infighting to defeat Stevenson, who ran and held a lot in their fight eight years ago.
Edwin De Los Santos came close to beating Shakur last November, but the judges didn’t give him the decision. Where he went wrong was by not applying enough pressure. De Los Santos did not want to be hit.
“We cannot make the announcement. Golden Boy and DAZN should 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 to that. So, now it’s up to them. Shakur agreed. Boxers are contractors. They work for themselves. The promoters get a percentage out of working for you. You are the boss. You don’t work for them.
“I think the fans supported this fight. Everyone wanted to see because they knew Floyd was going to keep pushing. They know 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 as they need to start promoting this match. No one is giving Schofield a chance to win now, but maybe if he convinces people he will have a chance in the build-up.
“I know I’m going to win
“Shakur didn’t have anyone else. Once Zepeda was out there, he wasn’t going to fight Mason. He’s not going to fight Keyshawn. The only one at 135 for him to fight that is a legitimate opponent is Kid (Austin) at #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 somewhat made up. Wait until February.”
We already know how Schofield is going to fight Shakur because that’s the only way he can win. He’s going to pressure him non-stop, landing power shots and single shots. What Schofield needs to do is throw combinations when he catches Shakur and make sure he fights through the clinch because the Newark, New Jersey native is going to hold a lot.
“I am confident in myself, I work hard, and I fight for my son and my father. I have something to fight for. I’m not getting into all that. I do my talking in the ring. If I feel like it’s for the buildup, I’ll probably mess around,” Kid Austin said.
The kid is going to have to use his power, hand speed and pressure to wear down Shakur, who is fragile against lightweights and can’t stand in the pocket with the power punchers in this weight class. Shakur is above his ceiling by fighting at 135 because his natural habitat is 130 and 126. At lightweight, Shakur doesn’t have the tools to fight off predators like Kid Austin, Tank Davis and William Zepeda.
The whole Package
“They already know. The whole package is coming. It’s a great fight. The doll cannot close its mouth. 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 upper crust preschooldestined for Harvard, manner of speaking, and it sounds like he’s been rich for a long time.
“Whether 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 beat.”
Schofield will have to put it on Shakur as he will try to win rounds by doing the bare minimum. This will be the usual low percentage output from Shakur, who will land and run. Even in his last fight against the light-hitting Artem Harutyunyan, Shakur used his four-foot step back when attacked. Against Kid Austin it’s going to be extreme.
If Schofield was the A team, he could be inside on a smaller 18-foot ring to prevent Shakur from having room to run, but that’s not the case. It will be a 20-footer.
