Floyd Schofield wants to make Shakur fight through pain, targeting his arms and shoulders when clean head shots aren’t available. His proposed approach is to punish the defense itself until openings appear.
There’s an understandable reason Schofield wants this fight so badly. Their canceled February 2025 meeting left him facing accusations that he wanted out. For fans who still suspect he feigned illness, another callout won’t settle anything. Getting into the ring with Shakur would give him the opportunity to answer them.
Schofield was reported ill and hospitalized before that scheduled fight. That does not establish that he fabricated an illness to avoid Shakur.
“That’s who I want before I finish my career,” Schofield told Fight Hub TV about Shakur. “I’m throwing to break bones. Like I ain’t even going to lie, in sparring I was practicing like breaking shoulders. Like I was hitting shoulders, hitting like forearms. I was just hitting anywhere I can. You know, I don’t care.”
The thinking is straightforward: if Shakur makes his head difficult to hit, Schofield wants to make blocking punches costly. Sustained attacks to the arms could make holding the guard and returning punches harder as the rounds progress.
Executing that against Shakur would require more than aggression. Schofield would need to cut off his exits, stay balanced while punching, and avoid spending entire rounds striking the guard while taking clean counters. He also argues that opponents need several approaches, recognizing that pressure alone might not be enough.
First comes Lucas Bahdi. Schofield’s next fight is scheduled for October 10 in Chicago for the vacant WBA lightweight title, giving him an immediate opportunity to advance his championship ambitions.
Schofield acknowledges Bahdi’s patience and knockout power but wants a stoppage himself. That ambition brings its own danger: forcing a finish could create the opening Bahdi needs.
Beating Bahdi would strengthen Schofield’s position to pursue bigger fights. Settling the doubts surrounding Shakur still requires a fight that actually happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3md21xMGA