Floyd Schofield May Have Bitten Off More Than He Can Chew

Floyd Schofield Lands Shakur Stevenson Fight After Internal Tussle

Following a bit of confusion, it appears that lightweight contender Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (18-0, 12 KO’s) got his way. After expressing his interest to face WBC 135-pound champion “Fearless” Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO’s), he met a bit of resistance from Oscar De La Hoya, his own Golden Boy Promotions promoter. Yet, once he stood his ground, it’s clear that Schofield was allowed to sign on for his first title challenge. But will it turn out to be a mistake?

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Thus far in his career, Kid Austin has proven himself to be a strong, capable and gritty fighter. Schofield certainly wants to entertain the crowd and has consistently called for the big names. At the same time, he has routinely displayed defensive flaws, an over willingness to fight dangerously rather than strategically and a habit of not listening to his corner. Any one of these items are enough rope to get him hung in a duel versus Stevenson.

TIME TO SHOW AND PROVE

To this point in his career, Schofield has shown that he has a solid beard and technically should be able to hold up to Stevenson’s power. What has yet to be seen is how Kid Austin mentally holds up under pressure on the big stage if things are not going his way. If he does find himself down on the cards, will he be able to maintain his cool and apply his corner’s instructions?

Provided that he resorts to his typical meet-fire-with-fire mind state, his February 22 coming out party could turn disastrous. A particularly humbling strapping could prove devastating to Schofield both, professionally and psychologically speaking. Especially given the looming mountain of trash that he has talked.

In his pursuit of Stevenson, Schofield has denigrated his power at quite some length. Yet, when dealing with a competitor as sharp as Fearless, it’s not uncommon to see TKO’s and corner stoppages due to accumulation and too many clean punches. Said to say, Schofield doesn’t have to be laid out flat to reasonably be stopped by Stevenson. Yet, if he did lose by stoppage, what would be the ripple effects?

PATIENCE IS KEY

Without question, Schofield is showing a great deal of heart and self-belief by forcing the issue to take on Stevenson. Yet, there is an extremely high likelihood this decision will later be viewed as a grave mistake. Personally, this scribe believes that Stevenson’s patience and precision will frustrate Schofield and cause him to fight to delight the crowd. This will only lead to further unraveling as Kid Austin will go on to clash with his father and trainer, Floyd Schofield Sr. in the corner rather than listen. Ultimately, this will lead to a mid-round to late-fight TKO type ending in Stevenson’s favor.

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