Sparring partner Kevin Johnson says Shakur Stevenson will be in trouble if his surgically repaired right hand breaks down against Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield on February 22 in Riyadh.
Johnson predicts a win for Stevenson if he is healthy, but could lose if he re-injures his right hand during the fight against the 22-year-old Schofield. He says Floyd would attack a one-armed Shakur and “overwhelm” him with punches. Shakur’s fragile hands are the key to this fight. If they last, he wins. A defect in this area makes it easy prey for the tiger shark, ‘Kid Austin’.
Peck & Run problem
Unlike Edwin De Los Santos, ‘Kid Austin’ would be relentless against an injured Shakur. He will be like that anyway, but it will be much worse.
Stevenson could not peck and run away way to victory like against De Los Santos because Floyd would catch him and punish him with power shots. He doesn’t hit as hard as De Los Santos, but he hits close enough to do damage. Shakur should have lost that fight if Edwin had cut the ring better and shown more courage to throw when he trapped him.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) has not fought since injuring his hand training for his Oct. 12 fight against Joe Cordina. He had hand surgery and started training last week for his defense against Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs).
“I feel like Shakur has a healthy arm just because ‘Kid Austin’ is coming forward. He’s going to give you a fight, but it’s going to be a sloppy fight,” Kevin Johnson said Fighthypepicking a healthy WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson over Floyd ‘Kid’ Austin’ Schofield on Feb. 22 if Shakur’s surgically repaired right hand doesn’t disintegrate.
“He [Schofield] she doesn’t know what she would stand in front of. He is suddenly Orthodox and a southerner. Not only that. Throws wide shots. It’s a style that was made for Shakur Stevenson. It’s like, ‘I’m going to tag your f*** with all those wild kicks and missed footwork you’re doing now.’
“You open up your body with your switch. I have a feeling Shakur is going to win this one. Now, his arm injury. If his arm gives up on him and he has one arm, it’s going to be tough. Even though his defense is good, you only have one arm,” Johnson said of Stevenson.
If Shakur is healthy, he’ll win a boring 12-round decision using his own hit and run stylebut it won’t be easy. Kid Austin will hit him hard and attack him non-stop. He’s going to make Stevenson look bad regardless.
Austin’s aggression
It’s a good thing for him that the fight is in Riyadh and not in the US because he would have been booed from anywhere. Shakur is not built physically or mentally for the lightweight division. Going up against the younger, fearless power fighter will be tough for Stevenson.
“You might lose that arm to set up body shots and hooks or whatever. Kid Austin will come forward to strike. So he’s going to shower you with all these punches while you’re trying to get out of there and try to hit him with one good shot. You cannot use the other hand. So you’re limited,” Johnson said.
