WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is slated to lock horns with rising star Floyd Schofield Jr. on the stacked February 22nd card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Newark native was initially supposed to defend his title against mandatory challenger interim WBC lightweight champion William Zepeda.

However, the 28-year-old undefeated Mexican injured his arm during his last bout against Tevin Farmer last month in Riyadh, which led to the fight falling apart. However, Schofield who, alongside his father, has been asking for a fight against Stevenson for some time, quickly threw their name into the mix to fight Stevenson instead. 

While Oscar De La Hoya, Schofield, and Zepeda’s promoter, was critical of Stevenson wanting to fight a rising prospect, he, too, agreed to make the fight happen. In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, the Golden Boy head honcho emphasized the crucial role Floyd Schofield Sr. played in making the highly anticipated fight a reality.

Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV pressed Oscar about him wanting Schofield Jr. to wait longer before fighting Stevenson. “Yeah, I was the first one to say, ‘Hey, you have to wait. We have a plan for you, we have a strategy for you’.”, ‘The Golden Boy’ revealed. However, Schofield Sr.’s ambitions for his son seemed to be bigger than De La Hoya’s strategy. 

“But the father was very adamant, the father, in particular, was the one who wanted this fight,” Oscar told Villegas. “’Kid Austin’, he’s a fighter, he’s a throwback fighter, he’s actually my favorite fighter today.” He also suggested that Schofield Jr. has the mentality to fight the very best out there to create history in the sport, noting, “Like that’s his mentality. I love that.” Even though Oscar green-lit the fight, he still stands firm on his initial view of the bout. 

Oscar De La Hoya shares candid opinion on Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield Jr. 

During the same interview, Oscar added his take on the bout, noting that he feels it’s a little too early for Schofield Jr., who doesn’t have any championship experience, to fight a seasoned boxer like Stevenson. “For my taste, I think yes, it was a little too ambitious,” De La Hoya told Marcos Villegas. However, this doesn’t seem to have wavered his support for Schofield Jr. 

“But they know exactly what they’re doing,” De La Hoya added. “The father knows his son. We know his abilities inside the ring.” Despite all that, Oscar hyped up the fight, stating, “I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight. I think it’s going to be a very, very entertaining fight.” The bout is set to light up the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undisputed rematch.

Having said that Floyd Schofield Jr. is taking a risky and brave step towards his goal of becoming a world champion by fighting Shakur Stevenson—something not a lot of boxers today are willing to do. But in case, he manages to pull off an upset, Schofield Jr.’s career is expected to skyrocket. Do you think it’s too early for Schofield to fight Stevenson?