It wasn’t pretty, but lightweight prospect Floyd Schofield overcame a knockdown and several in-ring tongue lashings from his corner to preserve his unbeaten record.
The 22-year-old defeated a game Rene Tellez Giron by unanimous decision Saturday night in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. In the 11th round, Tellez Giron connected with a left hook to the temple that sent “Kid Austin” to the floor for the first time in his career, but Schofield was far ahead on the scorecards and thus survived the brief scare.
According to Compubox, Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) landed 259 of 771 punches (34%), and Tellez Giron landed just 72 of 292 punches (24.7%). Despite his relatively low number of connected blows, Tellez Giron gave Schofield fits for much of the fight and wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty.
Schofield took control of the opening round, and his left hand did all of the damage, snapping Tellez Giron’s head back repeatedly with the jab in the first round. At the midway point, Schofield stunned him with that shot as Tellez Giron gave him a nod of approval in response. But it was Schofield who was also impressed with his adversary. “I hit him with a four-piece combination,” Schofield told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “He didn’t budge, and I was like, ‘Damn.”
Schofield was too athletic for Tellez Giron in the second round. He fought out of the southpaw stance in round two, and it was more of the same with some extra spice. Schofield continued to dictate the pace and changed levels effectively, connecting with jabs to Tellez Giron’s head and body and followed up with combinations to keep the Mexican at bay.
However, in round three, Schofield got overzealous. He decided to engage in a slugfest with Tellez Giron, who rocked the Texas-based fighter with a series of illegal rabbit punches behind the head. Schofield subsequently turned his back, earning a scolding from both referee Thomas Taylor, who failed to admonish Tellez Giron for his fouls, and his father/trainer, Floyd Sr., who gave his son a tongue-lashing for deviating from the game plan. Schofield got buzzed again in round five, but this time it was from a legal punch, a counter left hook that made its mark.
Order was finally restored in the seventh round as Schofield returned to dominant form. He popped Tellez Giron with a double jab and knocked him back with a straight left hand. That summed up the action, as Schofield used his feet and timed Tellez Giron coming in. The 25-year-old Tellez Giron was dazzled by Schofield’s hand speed as he complained of punches landing behind the head that landed clean.
Leading up to the championship rounds, Schofield was still moving and outboxing Tellez Giron, but it wasn’t enough for Schofield Sr., who urged his son to keep moving his feet and “Jab!” This guy has never been stopped! Jab! Move your feet!” His premonition was spot on. In an exchange, Tellez Giron dropped Schofield with a sweeping left hook. And Schofield threw caution to the wind to survive the onslaught.
Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) went for the home run shot in an entertaining 12th and final round. Schofield met him in the middle instead of getting on his bicycle and fighting smart. The fans enjoyed it, but Floyd Sr. did not. “I feel real good,” Schofield. “My dad wanted me to jab and use my legs more. But I wanted to give the fans a show.” Oscar De La Hoya, Schofield’s co-promoter, was not impressed with his performance but was not overly critical, given how young his prospect is.
“Me being a fighter myself, I give Floyd a C-minus,” he stated. “He’s only 22 years old. There’s no rush whatsoever. He wants to fight all the top guys. But he has to slow down a little bit and go back to the drawing board.” Given this fight was more difficult than expected, it would be ideal for Schofield to fight against more seasoned opposition, but he believes he’s ready for the elite, namely unbeaten former three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson, who live-tweeted throughout the fight. “Everyone knows who I want,” Schofield said. In reality, this fight will likely be off the table for now.
Schofield went the 12-round distance for the first time in his four-year career. He also went ten rounds last July against Haskell Rhodes, earning a unanimous decision nod.
Melikuziev victorious in bloody affair
Bektemir “The Bully” Melikuziev defeated David Stevens by split decision in a WBA 168-pound world title eliminator. The Uzbek fighter suffered a nasty cut under his left eye and a bloodied mouth courtesy of Stevens’ left hand but did more than enough to win their ugly 12-round affair. The judges scored 116-112 for Stevens, 118-110, and 117-111 for Melikuziev.
Undercard Action
- Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) TKO7 over Gabriela Alaniz (15-2, 6 KOs) to become undisputed 112-pound world champion.
- Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) TKO3 over Christopher Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs)
- Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) TKO1 over Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs)
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