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Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya says it was a little “overly ambitious” for his fighter, Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield Jr., to accept the fight with WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson so early. in his four-year professional career.
De La Hoya says Schofield’s father, Floyd Sr, was “adamant” that his son should fight Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) next, so he is now scheduled to challenge him on February 22 at the giant billboard in Riyadh.
Payday rush?
If the move backfires on Schofield Jr’s part, De La Hoya will at least provide some cover for the backlash by telling the media ahead of time that he was against the idea of the 22-year-old challenging Shakur.
Many fans believe Schofield Jr. and his father are only in it for the money, wanting to get the purse without believing they will win against three-division world champion Stevenson.
When Kid Austin loses, he’ll probably pick up a couple of wins against the same low-level opponent he built his 18-0 record on and then try to fight his way to another world title shot for another payday. In other words, It’s just a hustle.
The way Schofield looked in his last fight against second-tier fighter René Téllez Girón, getting knocked down by him, means he doesn’t belong in the same ring as Shakur or anyone in the top 15 at lightweight. Floyd Jr. had a terrible performance in that fight.
De La Hoya’s Warning
“I was the first to say, ‘We have to wait. We have a plan for you, we have a strategy for you,’ but the father was very inflexible. The father, in particular, was the one who wanted this fight,” said Oscar De La Hoya. Fight Hub TV about wanting Floyd Schofield to continue developing before fighting for a world title.
“For my taste, it was too ambitious, but they know exactly what they are doing. The father (Schofield Sr) meets his son. We know his skills inside the ring. Is it too soon? Maybe. Is it the right time? Who knows. Only Kid Austin knows it inside the ring that night.”
Boxing fans on social media are divided over whether it’s a good thing for Schofield, 22, a four-year professional, to challenge Shakur for a world title so early in his career. While some fans favor the idea, considering Floyd Jr. is showing courage, others think it is foolish and that he is skipping the development part of his career.
Learn at work
Some wrestlers went straight to the top early in their careers, but they came from excellent amateur backgrounds. Schofield was not a big fan. He is learning at the top as a professional and has yet to fight a contender.
De La Hoya, who was 20 when he won his first world title in his 12th professional fight in 1994, was also an Olympic gold medalist in 1992. Schofield doesn’t have the same amateur pedigree.
