Unbeaten Shakur Stevenson defends his WBC lightweight title against rising star Floyd Schofield, with the bout featuring on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev's and Dmitry Bivol's huge heavyweight showdown in Saudi Arabia on February 22.
Former Olympic silver medallist and three-weight world champion Stevenson is expected to extend his unblemished 22-fight record, but fellow American Schofield is tipped to have a very bright future in boxing and is also unbeaten after 18 pro fights.
Shakur Stevenson | Floyd Schofield | |
Odds: | -1200 | +700 |
Age: | 27 | 22 |
Nickname: | Sugar/Outlaw | Kid Austin |
Height: | 5′ 7″ | 5′ 7″ |
Reach: | 68.1” | 66.9" |
Weight: | Lightweight | Lightweight |
Trainer: | Willie Moses | Floyd Schofield senior |
Record: | 22-0 (10 KOs) | 18-0 (12 KOs) |
Last fight: | Win by UD v Artem Harutyunyan (6 July 2024) | Win by UD v Rene Tellez Giron (2 November 2024) |
After winning the bantamweight silver medal at the 2016 Olympics representing the United States, Stevenson turned pro in early 2017 and soon after defeated fellow American boxer Edgar Brito.
He impressed early on his career with wins over the likes of Carlos Gaston Suarez, Oscar Mendoza and Carlos Ruiz and began to make a real name for himself when he saw off Joet Gonzalez to secure the vacant WBO featherweight title in October 2019.
Three years later and still undefeated, Stevenson beat Jamel Herring to claim the WBO super featherweight title and, in his next fight, mounted a successful defence against Oscar Valdez, while also picking up the WBC and vacant Ring super featherweight belts.
Stevenson's fine form has led to comparisons to the great Floyd Mayweather and in his 21st outing in November 2023, he overcame Edwin De Los Santos to secure the vacant WBC lightweight title in Las Vegas.
The American defended his title last time out against Artem Harutyunyan in July, winning by unanimous decision in New Jersey, and is now preparing to take on the talented Schofield.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Aggression | Knockout power has been questioned |
Balance | |
Counterpunching |
Schofield reportedly took up boxing as early as eight-years-old when growing up in Austin, Texas and he impressed as an amateur, winning numerous titles.
His first professional fight finished as a KO win over Richard Esquibel in October 2020 and Schofield quickly racked up further successes early on in his career, including when defeating Puerto Rican fighter Pedro Vincente Scharbaai in October 2021 and Mexican Daniel Rosas a year later.
Schofield continued to shine throughout 2023, securing five wins that year - over Alberto Machado, Jesus Valentin Leon, Haskell Rhodes and Ricardo Lopez Torres.
He then extended his perfect record last March when Dominican Republic fighter Estueri Suero was disqualified in the fifth round of their Vegas showdown.
Schofield was last in the ring when beating Rene Tellez Giron by unanimous decision in November, but he is facing a huge step up when taking on Stevenson later this month.
The 22-year-old has admitted his upcoming opponent was one of his idols when he was rising through the ranks and he insists he takes confidence from the fact he was able to hold his own during a sparring session with Stevenson four years ago.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Resilience | Lack of big-fight experience |
Determination | Defense |
Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.