OSCAR DE LA HOYA has higher hopes for Floyd Schofield than perhaps any young boxer represented by Golden Boy Promotions.
The retired six-division champion reminded onlookers during a press conference on Thursday in Las Vegas of Schofield’s tremendous power in both hands, “lightning” speed and impressive ring generalship for a rising contender who only recently turned 22. De La Hoya expects the Austin, Texas native to receive a lightweight title shot sometime in 2025.
Schofield feels he is more than ready to challenge even two of the three elite-level champions in the 135-pound division. The gifted Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs), who will meet Mexican veteran Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday night, gained confidence from sparring sessions with WBA champ Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) and WBC champ Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs).
“I feel I can hang with those guys, like Shakur, ‘Tank,’ you know, all these other fighters because, you know, I’ve been in the ring with them,” Schofield stated during a press conference at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. “You know, I shared the gym with them and I just wanna challenge myself. Boxing’s all about challenges. You know, this new age of boxing, where, you know, you don’t wanna fight nobody because it ain’t the right amount of money or, you know, just whatever it is, it’s all about wack to me.
“I just wanna give everybody, you know, good fights. You know, you’ve never been to one of my fights and heard people boo or, you know, walk out or say it wasn’t entertaining. So, that’s what I’m here to give the fans, entertaining fights. It’s all about taking risks.”
The rugged Giron isn’t undefeated, nor nearly as talented as Davis, Stevenson or IBF lightweight champ Vasiliy Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs). The aggressive Giron, 25, has a granite chin, though, and upset 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas – then an unbeaten, touted prospect – by sixth-round knockout in December 2019.
Two of Giron’s three losses were points defeats to opponents – Michel Rivera and Giovani Cabrera – who were undefeated when they fought. His most recent setback was a 10-round, majority-decision defeat to Argentina’s Jose Matias Romero (then 26-3) in June 2023 in Buenos Aires.
“I’d like to thank Rene for taking the fight,” Schofield said, “but I hope he’s ready to give his life in that ring like I am. So, I’ll see y’all Saturday.”
DAZN will stream Schofield-Giron as the 12-round main event of a nine-bout card from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The streaming service’s undercard coverage is scheduled to begin at midnight GMT in the UK and 8 p.m. ET in the United States.
