On February 22, Floyd Schofield Jr. was scheduled to fight Shakur Stevenson. But at the last moment, he pulled out. The move made him a subject of much ridicule. So nothing short of a statement victory would have absolved him of his ‘sins.’ And that’s what he did yesterday when he stepped into the ring and annihilated veteran Tevin Farmer in just 78 seconds. A performance that left even Schofield stunned.

He even acknowledged it in the post-fight press conference. “Yes and no, you know, so much was going on that I was just thinking like a mile a minute, so when the fight was over, it didn’t register that the fight was over,” he said when a reporter probed if the quick finish surprised him. In a strange twist, Schofield’s response aligns with what his father mentioned on ‘Mill City Boxing.’ According to the senior, when he steps into a ring, the young fighter drifts into a trance. It’s somewhat akin to what Cus D’Amato reportedly practiced before Mike Tyson entered a fight.

The otherworldly revelations emerged when the host asked the father-son duo their views about the referee’s call. The match official had to stop the fight. Following the second knockdown, Tevin Farmer could barely answer Floyd Schofield’s deadly punches. To the Jersey City native, it was a justified decision, ‘a good stoppage.’ Then, wedging in a disclaimer, Schofield Sr. spoke. “I’ve been told y’all when Floyd go in that ring, it ain’t Floyd in that ring,” he attested. As his son concurred, Senior revealed, “It’s a spirit from us hypnotizing him since he was a kid to have him when he go in that ring, he blacks out. He’s not in there.”

He compared Schofield Jr.’s transformation to the story of Judas at the Last Supper. A spirit enters Judas before he betrays Jesus. A similar kind of spirit overtakes his son when he fights. He loses conscious control. Once the fight is over, the real Floyd Schofield Jr. comes back. But he feels the emotional weight of what happened, like hurting a friend (Tevin Farmer). That’s why he was emotional post-fight.

Schofield Sr. emphasized. Junior might have hurt Farmer because he was in that ‘beast’ mode. So the referee stepped in time.

Channeling the same mystique and menace Mike Tyson once mastered

Critics may dismiss Schofield Sr.’s explanation. But it’s important to understand. Sometimes, ‘bizarre’ yet harmless things can motivate more than ordinary words ever could. Fans may recall. Gary Antuanne Russell’s brother would put a ‘mask Enswell’ on his face during Jose Valenzuela fight breaks.

Speaking to tennis star Nick Kyrgios on ‘Hotboxin,’ Mike Tyson revealed, “I was raised off of hypnosis since I was 13, 14, until the end of my career. I always had hypnosis before I fought.” He told Joe Rogan, “Cus used to have me professionally hypnotized two or three times a day: before sparring, before training, and before fights. My objective was to destroy. Cus didn’t like me to be sensitive like that. He wanted me to be emotionless.”

Such tactics should be seen for what they are: metaphysical and abstract. Provided it’s harmless and doesn’t hurt the fighter or others.

Will Schofield Jr.’s hypnotism work against either William Zepeda or, better still, Shakur Stevenson? That’s what fans should be more concerned about.

What are your thoughts on Schofield Sr.’s explanation about his son’s ring transformation?