SAN ANTONIO – Floyd Schofield Jr. capitalized on an unexpected opportunity to advance from rising prospect to a main attraction.
The unbeaten lightweight was dominant in a ten-round, unanimous decision victory over Haskell Lydell Rhodes. All three judges scored the bout 100-87 for Schofield in their makeshift main event Saturday evening from AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Schofield-Rhodes was previously budgeted as the chief support to the rescheduled Eimantas Stanionis-Vergil Ortiz Jr. WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight title fight. The 20-year-old regional favorite from Austin was tasked to headline after Ortiz fainted and was hospitalized earlier in fight week which forced him off Saturday’s show.
Schofield did his part to entertain the sparse but passionate crowd, though Rhodes was more content to not get knocked out rather than put up a fight of any kind. Schofield landed a rapid-fire combination to draw cheers and lend suggestion to a potential early night in the office after a televised undercard filled with distance fights.
Rhodes—who has only been stopped once in 33 pro fights—fought to ensure that he would go rounds with the rising lightweight 15 years his junior. The Oklahoma City native—who now lives and trains in Las Vegas—played defense for most of the night and was well off the mark on the occasions he dared to throw a power punch.
Schofield took a more aggressive approach in round three. It left him open for an occasional counter shot but the Texan was fine with taking a shot to get in his combinations. Rhodes mostly fought in reverse but stopped to throw and land right hands when Schofield stood directly in front of his target.
The difference in power was already evident on paper and more so in the ring. Schofield illustrated this point in round four, when a stiff jab knocked Rhodes off balance and drove him into the ropes. The sequence drew a rise out of the crowd but Schofield was unable to follow up on the attack versus his reluctant foe.
Action slowed considerably in rounds five and six. Rhodes pawed with his jab from the outside while Schofield bounced on his toes. Rhodes offered a combination in the first minute of round six, while Schofield switched between a conventional and southpaw stance purely for defensive purposes.
Schofield drew motivation from a spill to the canvas in round seven. The sequence was accurately waved off as a push but inspired the crowd favorite to intensify his attack. Rhodes was not prepared for the shift in tempo, as he was put flat on his back courtesy of a left hook. He beat the count but was dropped from a flurry of power shots just moments later. Rhodes remained on a knee until he absolutely had to get up and managed to finish the round.
The power surge carried over into round eight. Schofield fought to close the show and quickly cut off the ring. A left hook caught Rhodes on the chin which caused a delayed reaction knockdown as he took a knee with roughly one minute to go. He once again beat the count but had to defend against left hooks to the body by Schofied who also landed right hands upstairs.
Chants of “knock him out” broke out in round nine but Schofield was unable to fulfill that demand. Rhodes landed the most telling blow of the round—though not at all legal. A headbutt from the onrushing underdog clipped Schofield under his eye as he fell to the canvas. Schofield was left with a cut high above his left cheek, to which he responded by licking his own blood as he grinned and stared down Rhodes.
Time was called prior to the start of the tenth and final round for the ringside physician to examine Schofield. A clean bill of health was issued, as Schofield waved his arms in the air to ignite the crowd. It was the most eventful part of the round, as Schofield bounced on his toes while he fought of a southpaw stance. Rhodes was unable—and perhaps unwilling—to do anything to change that dynamic, as he was content to make it to the final bell.
The loss sent Rhodes’ record to 28-5-1 (13KOs), as he remained without a victory over a fighter with a winning record since 2014.
Schofield went the ten-round distance for the second time in his past three fights as he advanced to 15-0 (11KOs).
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox