It’s finally happening! WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson will go toe-to-toe with rising star Floyd Schofield Jr. on February 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—in what has turned out to be one of the most stacked cards in recent years. Regardless, Stevenson is expected to sail past the undefeated prospect, at least, according to this expert. 

Stevenson is coming off two slow but easy wins against former lightweight champion Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan, which many have branded one of the more boring fights in the game. In fact, Stevenson has faced significant backlash for those two fights, making his upcoming dance in the ring a pivotal point in his career. 

On the other hand, ‘Kid Austin’ has fought twice already in 2024 against Esteuri Suero and Rene Tellez Giron. The first one ended in disqualification because Suero kept landing low blows throughout the fight. However, Schofield’s last fight saw him present a career-worst, in addition to getting dropped for the first time in the 11th round. 

Despite that, Schofield had his eyes on the ultimate fight. So, when William Zepeda had to pull out of his mandatory fight against Stevenson because of a forearm injury in his last outing—Schofield jumped in headfirst. But the question is, can he win? Rising star Raymond Muratalla’s father, Gabriel, has revealed his thoughts.

While appearing in an interview with ES News, Gabriel said, “‘Kid Austin’ is pretty tough, but I think Shakur would beat him.” Meanwhile, the trash talk between Stevenson and Schofield continues to rage on. 

Floyd Schofield Jr. claims X won’t save Shakur Stevenson from him

The duo has been exchanging spicy words on social media for a while, but things seem to have escalated to a whole new level. Schofield’s father had already insulted the Newark native, claiming he was not an A-class fighter, and Schofield Jr. would knock him out. And now, ‘Kid Austin’ really seems to be aiming for a KO finish. 

Earlier today on X, the 22-year-old wrote, “X won’t be able to help you when that bell ring[s].” Stevenson quickly fired back, “Yeah, that’s the energy I’m looking for, killer, keep popping it lil n***a.” This prompted Naji from Cigar Talk to instigate more insults, asking what if Schofield lands a shot on his chin. 

Stevenson responded, stating, “Overrated power and I could take a punch that’s the part yall miss.” Between the two, Stevenson has 10 knockout wins out of his 22 wins while Schofield Jr. has 12 knockout wins out of his 18 wins. However, Stevenson is a defensive fighter who relies more on his technical skills. Whereas, Schofield can go overboard with his aggression sometimes. 

That said, this fight should be relatively easy for Shakur Stevenson, but you never know what one wild punch on the chin can do. Regardless, the question is, who will you be betting on?