Former lightweight champion Raimer Walker is not giving Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield any chance of defeating WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22nd in their fight in Riyadh.
Walker pounded Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) and found it impossible to put anything on him, which made him want to improve his defense. He says the only punches he got were the rare occasions when Shakur let him.
No Chance
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) and his father, Floyd Sr., talked their way into defeating Shakur. ‘Kid Austin’ didn’t earn a regular shot at beating anyone major during his four-year professional career.
Although the WBC does not rank him in the top 15, the World Boxing Association ranks him 2nd. He earned that rank by defeating street opponents rather than competitors.
Schofield’s promoter, 1992 Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya, did not want him to take the fight, feeling that he did not have enough experience to fight Stevenson. De La Hoya labeled Kid Austin “young,” and wanted him to improve a lot before fighting for a world title.
Some believe that Schofield is running into this fight looking for money, wanting to get a good payday before being exposed by one of the competitors. It was not a good sign that second division fighter Rene Tellez Giron dropped him in his last fight on November 2nd.
I can’t wait to start camp and miss sparring lol
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 13, 2024
“He has no chance. He will not take a chance,” said Raimer Walker speaking to Floyd Schofield who defeated Shakur Stevenson who is the WBC lightweight champion on February 22 in Riyadh.
“He speaks well, but there is a difference between speaking and being with him [Stevenson]. I really gave up on Shakur. “He can’t beat Shakur,” Walker said of ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield. “To be honest, I don’t think anyone can beat Shakur.
“Yes, it is difficult [to land a jab on Shakur]. You have to take what he gives you. Whatever he gives you, that’s what you’ll get down. If he doesn’t give it to you, you won’t get it. He’s the best defensive player I’ve ever been around.”
That’s right it’s not good for the fans that Shakur defends Schofield instead of facing one of these talented competitors:
- Andy Cruz
- Edwin De Los Santos: *Shakur’s revenge is to show that his poor performance since November 2023 was due to a hand injury and not because he was afraid of De Los Santos’ power.
- Raymond Muratalla
- Keyshawn Davis
- Abdullah Mason
“I learned from that. “It made me work harder on defense,” Walker said of his breakup with Shakur. “When I realized that I could not hit him like I hit other people, I had to defend myself like that. I don’t know what it is. You are different. He works on the hit and doesn’t get hit much. So, I’ve been working on that a lot as well. I saw myself like that.
“Not early in my career, but later as I’ve gotten older,” Walker said when asked if he sees himself developing into a defensive hitter like Shakur, who doesn’t hit.
Walker did not say whether Stevenson had been riding his bike the entire time, running around the ring during their breaks. We saw that from Shakur in his fights with De Los Santos, Artem Harutyunyan, and Jeremiah Nakathalia. The only fight in the last three years where Shakur looked good was against Shuichiro Yoshino, and that fighter never looked world class.
