Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed on social media that his fighter, Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield, will compete for Shakur Stevenson’s WBC lightweight crown. Shakur responded to De La Hoya’s message by telling him that he was coming for another top-ranked fighter, William Zepeda, after defeating Schofield.
18-foot ring?
Oscar didn’t mention in his post about X whether he would insist on a smaller 18-foot hoop so Shakur wouldn’t have to run all night and play on the sidelines to prevent Schofield’s explosive shot from landing any powerful shots. . If it’s a 24-foot hoop, it will be impossible for Schofield to land without being as fleet-footed as Shakur.
The good news is that De La Hoya has given knockout artist Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) the green light to face Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) in what is expected to be one of the most exciting fights in the world. February 22 Card of the season of Riyadh.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) will be a tough fight for Shakur as he cuts the ring well, has an excellent jab and focuses more on body shots than trying to connect upstairs. Shakur’s bread and butter shakes his head to avoid getting hit, but he can’t do anything until it hits the body. Zepeda spears the middle of his opponents as he tries to run.
We saw it in his battles with Giovanni Cabrera, Maxie Hughes and Tevin Farmer. When those guys tried to move, Zepeda had them load up on hard body shots with the lead arm like a lightning strike.
“Not equipped” for dog fighting
It is almost impossible for fighters to move when hit hard to the body. It forces them to stand and fight, which could be a disaster for Shakur because he’s not equipped to stand and fight dog with Zepeda or the 22-year-old Schofield.
Finally you talk some sense, first he then I beat Zepeda 🦾 sorry in advance boy you are a legend to me in the boxing ring!! https://t.co/SIQhmyjyRe
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 2, 2024
