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Sparring partner Kevin Johnson says Shakur Stevenson will be in trouble if his surgically repaired right hand breaks in his fight against Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield on February 22 in Riyadh.
Johnson predicts a win for Stevenson if he is healthy, but could lose if he re-injures his right hand during the fight against the 22-year-old Schofield. He says Floyd would attack the one-armed Shakur and “overwhelm” him with blows. Shakur’s fragile hands are the key to this fight. If they hold out, he wins. A fault in this area makes it easy prey for the tiger shark, ‘Kid Austin’.
The peck and run problem
Unlike Edwin De Los Santos, ‘Kid Austin’ would be relentless against an injured Shakur. It will be like that anyway, but it will be much worse.
Stevenson could not peck and run his way to a victory like he did against De Los Santos because Floyd would chase him down and punish him with powerful blows. Not as hard as De Los Santos, but close enough to cause damage. Shakur should have lost that fight if Edwin had cut the ring better and shown more courage to throw when he caught him.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has not fought since injuring his hand while training for a fight against Joe Cordina on October 12. He underwent hand surgery and began training last week for his defense against Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs).
“I feel like Shakur has a healthy hand just because ‘Kid Austin’ is showing up. It will bring you a fight, but it will be a sloppy fight,” Kevin Johnson told fightpicking a healthy WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, over Floyd ‘Kid’ Austin’ Schofield on February 22 if Shakur’s surgically repaired right hand doesn’t fall apart.
“He (Schofield) doesn’t know what his position is. Suddenly he is orthodox and left-handed. Not only that. Throw wide punches. That’s a style made for Shakur Stevenson. It’s like, ‘I’m going to mark your ass with all these wild punches and botched footwork you’re doing now.’
“You are opening your body with your change. I feel like Shakur is going to win this hands down. Now, his hand injury. If your hand gives up and you have a hand, it will be difficult. Even though his defense is good, you only have one hand,” Johnson said of Stevenson.
If Shakur is healthy, he will win a boring 12-round decision using his hit and run stylebut it won’t be easy. Kid Austin will hit him hard and attack non-stop. Either way, it’ll make Stevenson look bad.
Austin’s aggression
It’s good for him that the fight is in Riyadh and not in the United States because he would be booed anywhere. Shakur is not physically or mentally suited for the lightweight division. He is shy and fragile in both areas. Facing a younger, fearless and powerful fighter will be difficult for Stevenson.
“You could lose that hand to body shots and hooks or whatever the case may be. Kid Austin will step up to hit. So he’ll overwhelm you with all these hits as you try to get out of there and try to hit him with a good shot. You can’t use the other hand. So you’re limited,” Johnson said.
