Shakur Stevenson took to social media to encourage Floyd Schofield ahead of their February 22 undercard fight in Riyadh. WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) let prospect Schofield know not to “give up” on his dream after whipping him.
Shakur’s dismissive confidence
Usually these kinds of comments come after a fighter wins, but the cocky Shakur jumps the gun and comforts the 22-year-old novice Schofield before they’ve even met.
It makes sense because Schofield will be a massive underdog in this fight and his chances of winning will depend on whether he gets a lucky strike or Shakur suffers an injury.
Many fans believe that Schofield and his father are just fighting for the $1 million payday, knowing they can’t win, but are just in it for the money. That would be pathetic. Schofield hasn’t fought anyone of note to get this title shot.
Schofield’s last five opponents
– Rene Tellez Giron
– Estuary Suero
– Ricardo López Torres
– Haskell Rhodes
– Jesus Valentine Leon
These are NOT world class fighters and it’s incredible that Schofield was given a high ranking by the sanctioning bodies based on wins over fluff opposition. Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya was supposed to be adamant about not allowing Schofield to fight for a world title just yet, but it’s understandable why he agreed.
The way Schofield looked in his fight with Giron when he was dropped, this cash-out fight against Shakur could be as good as it gets for him. If De La Hoya chooses to continue developing Schofield, he would likely be picked off by one of the second-tier fighters before he reaches the level of facing top 15 competition.
“Don’t let go of your dream after this. You can make it happen one day; tell them, aunt,” Shakur Stevenson X said, comforting Floyd Schofield before their Feb. 22 match in Riyadh.
Payment
Shakur tries to mess with Schofield in the build-up, but it doesn’t matter if he mentally throws him off because he’s already out of his league in this matchup. He doesn’t need to psych him out because he’s just a simple prospect.
“We’re going to shock the world … and NO,” Schofield said of his matchup with Shakur.
I don’t think anyone thinks Schofield or his dad thinks they’re going to win. Again, they just see this as a money oriented deal for them where they go for the quick buck, take the loss and rinse and repeat with more wins over soft opposition for another unearned title shot.
