Stevenson’s Left Hand: His Main Hope Against Schofield?

Leaked footage of Shakur Stevenson working out in camp for his fight against Floyd Schofield in 46 days showed that he’s still not using his surgically repaired right hand in training for his WBC lightweight belt title defense on February 22nd. He’s favoring his right hand, not wanting to use it, and focusing on his left.

Unfortunately, that strategy will not work for Stevenson against Schofield. He will be in attack mode from round one, and if Schofield runs like he did against Edwin De Los Santos, he will chase him like a hungry cat.

Training Footage Reveals Weakness

The southpaw Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) is still reduced to using only his left hand, which was the situation in his narrow win over Edwin De Los Santos in 2023. In the video, Stevenson barely uses his right hand, which shows he doesn’t trust it. It’s too tender.

If Shakur’s right-hand falls apart on him against Schofield, there’s no way he will be able to stand his ground and fight against this type of fighter. He won’t be able to hold off Floyd with just one hand working for him.

For this fight against the young 22-year-old Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs), it’s vital that Shakur, 27, has more than just his left hand working for him. This guy can punch, and he will be attacking him relentlessly. That’s how Floyd fights; he and his dad know that Shakur is fragile.

“I think if Floyd Schofield can fight tall, use a lot of pressure, and use that jab [he’ll beat Shakur]. The jab is the key for Shakur’s style,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV.

Shakur’s Added Bulk

Stevenson looks like a middleweight now, having put on weight since his last fight against Artem Harutyunyan six months ago on July 6th. He will have to take that weight because he looks like a fat 160 lbs. Stevenson doesn’t look healthy or anything like a professional athlete.

I don’t know what he’s been eating to get so big, but he needs to stop raiding the cookie jar. He looks like an old drummer in a rock band from the 1960s.

That weight is going to have to come off. Shakur will step away from the kitchen table and control his eating if he doesn’t want to be stuck, having to drain himself to the bone the week of the fight. He doesn’t have a fighter’s physique anyway, but he’s made it worse by blowing up with the six months he’s been out of the ring.

In contrast, Schofield looks sculpted and already in fighting shape. That’s youth, obviously, but it’s also hard work. He doesn’t sit around, eating and looking at his belts or posting 24/7 on Twitter.