Former amateur star Raimer Walker is giving Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield no chance to beat WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson in their February 22 fight in Riyadh.
Walker sparred with Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) and found it impossible to get anything on him, which made him want to improve his own defense. He says the only punches he got were on the rare occasions Shakur let him.
No chance
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) and his father, Floyd Sr., talked their way into the title shot against Shakur. ‘Kid Austin’ didn’t earn the shot the normal way by beating anyone of note during his four-year pro career.
Although the WBC does not rank him in the top 15, the World Boxing Association has him ranked #2. He earned that ranking by beating middle-of-the-road opposition rather than contenders.
Schofield’s promoter, 1992 Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya, did not want him to take this fight, feeling that he was not experienced enough to fight Stevenson. De La Hoya labeled Kid Austin a “beginner” and he wanted him to develop more before fighting for a world title.
Some believe that Schofield is rushing into this fight for the money, wanting to get the big payday before being exposed by one of the contenders. It wasn’t a good sign that second tier fighter Rene Tellez Giron dropped him in his last fight on November 2nd.
Can’t wait to start camp I miss sparring lol
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 13, 2024
“He doesn’t have a chance. He won’t stand a chance,” Raimer Walker said Battle hype about Floyd Schofield having no chance of defeating WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22nd in Riyadh.
“He talks a good one, but there is a difference between talking and being there with him (Stevenson). I actually saved Shakur. He’s not going to be able to hit Shakur,” Walker said of ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone can beat Shakur.
“Yeah, it’s hard (to get a shot at Shakur). You have to take what he gives you. Whatever he gives you, that’s what you’re going to land. If he doesn’t give it to you, you’re not going to land it. He’s the most defensive fighter I’ve ever been around.”
It is not fair to the fans that Shakur defend against Schofield rather than face one of these talented contenders:
- Andy Cruz
- Edwin De Los Santos: *Rematch for Shakur to show that his poor performance from November 2023 was really due to a hand injury and not because he was afraid of the punching power of De Los Santos.
- Raymond Muratalla
- Keyshawn Davis
- Abdullah Mason
“I learned from it. It made me work a lot more on my defense,” Walker said of his sparring with Shakur. “Once I saw I couldn’t hit him as much as I hit other people, I had to get my defense that way. I don’t know what it is. He is different. He works on hitting and doesn’t get hit a lot. So, I’ve been working on it a lot too. I could see myself that way.
“Not early in my career, but later as I get older,” Walker said when asked if he could see himself developing into a defensive fighter like Shakur, who doesn’t get hit.
Walker did not say whether Stevenson was on his bike the entire time and running around the ring during their sparring sessions. We saw this from Shakur in his fights with De Los Santos, Artem Harutyunyan and Jeremiah Nakathalia. The only fight in the last three years in which Shakur looked good was against Shuichiro Yoshino, and that fighter didn’t look world-class.
