Against all odds, Bob Santos believes the fight between Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield on February 22 will be more competitive than people think.

Schofield, 22, of New Jersey, is scheduled to box the Newark-born WBC lightweight champ Stevenson, with the fight confirmed for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Santos thinks the focus should be on what both fighters bring to the fight rather than suggesting that Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs), does not deserve a shot at facing Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs).

“I don't believe in that at all,” Santos told BoxingScene about whether Schofield qualifies for a fight with Stevenson or not. “He's done enough and then the question becomes, do you wanna fight the guy or not? Shakur is in a position. He can kinda dictate to a degree who he wants to fight for the most part.

“If he deems that, that's the guy that he wants to fight, and the other guy wants to fight him, that's what makes great fights. It's the same thing they said about Leon Spinks. I mean, he hasn't earned enough to fight Muhammad Ali. Well, he fought him and [Spinks] beat him. That's what fights are about.

“Everybody talks about fights on paper, and everybody says this, and everybody says that. At the end of the day, if the fight could be made and they agree on it, let the best man win.”

Schofield has filled in the gap for William Zepeda, who was billed to challenge Stevenson on the February 22 card but had to opt out due to a hand injury. Stevenson has since been looking for a replacement before Schofield agreed to face the champ.

As it stands, Schofield would be coming up against one of the best 135-pound fighters in the sport today in the biggest fight of his career to date. 

When asked how he thinks the fight plays out, Santos said “I think Shakur obviously has much more experience than him. He'll probably end up getting a decision with his experience, but there’s a caveat with Austin because he could punch. He's got fast hands and really, I think the way the referee refs the fight is the way the fight is gonna play out.

“If the referee allows him [Stevenson] to fight like he did with Edwin De Los Santos, where he's not engaging in any punches, and then he allows him to tie up as soon as the guy gets there to finally start to fight, well, then they're gonna give him an easy decision.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.