Schofield vs Bahdi: Recent Form
by Scott Christ
Floyd Schofield has never lost as a pro, never been challenged too much in a given fight, and he’s still just 24 years old. All sounds good. And then you realize this is just his second fight in the last 23 months, and you start to wonder if maybe something is askew. Or I start to, anyway.
Schofield (19-0, 13 KO) has talent and ability, that’s unquestionable. Every time we’ve seen him, he’s done the job at hand in fashion somewhere between strong and dominant. He did get knocked down
in November 2024 by Rene Tellez Giron, who was probably his best opponent, even if Tevin Farmer has more faded name value. But that fight with Tellez Giron is pretty easily the toughest Schofield has had, and while he maybe didn’t blow people away that night, he still won clearly.
Last time out, he blitzed an aged version of Tevin Farmer in 78 seconds. I maintain that this was impressive to see; Farmer may be older, but he’s not an incompetent. He was coming off of three losses, yes — one to Raymond Muratalla and two to William Zepeda. Pretty good fighters! All of them went the distance. He gave Zepeda serious trouble twice.
The physical tools are there. The question has been more about mindset and management. Those things can only be answered by time and going further up the ladder. For now, Floyd Schofield is a very talented young fighter who passes the eye test.
Lucas Bahdi (20-0, 15 KO) met up with someone who matches that description in July 2024, when he was brought in by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions to face their most valuable prospect, Ashton “H2O” Sylve. Sylve was 20, had dominated his first 11 fights, had all the confidence in the world, still feeling untouchable in the ring.
For five rounds, he dominated the 30-year-old Bahdi. Then Bahdi knocked him out. Since then, Sylve’s career has retreated into near-obscurity, while Bahdi has won three more fights, beating two unbeaten guys who weren’t serious prospects and then veteran Roger Gutierrez. The win over Sylve was a system shock, and got him in the door with MVP, and it has brought him today to this world title fight.
The talent advantage, pure ability, lies with Schofield. The experience is with Bahdi.
Schofield vs Bahdi: Style Matchup
by Patrick Stumberg
I’m genuinely happy for Lucas Bahdi. He flipped the script, kept plugging away, and now finds himself with an opportunity he’d never have dreamed of had MVP not tried to feed him to Ashton Sylve. MVP likewise deserves props for rewarding his derailing of their plans and maneuvering him into this position. Hopefully they can content themselves with the journey and come to terms with an unsatisfying destination.
Bahdi’s not a bad fighter, to be clear, and his victory over Sylve wasn’t a fluke. He had the right tools for the job and found his moment to use them. I just can’t see him testing anything of Schofield’s besides “Kid Austin’s” maturity.
Facing a massive disparity in speed, footwork, and combination punching, Bahdi’s only real chance lies in his solid counters, which do admittedly mesh well with Schofield’s most notable flaw: overaggressiveness. Schofield isn’t as defensively lackadaisical with his two-fisted rushes as, say, Anthony Cacace and can get away with a lot thanks to his athleticism, but he commits fully to his attacks in a way that could open him up to well-timed return fire. On top of that, he’s got a real chip on his shoulder, electing to trade heat with Rene Tellez Giron after getting floored. It’s not totally outside the realm of possibility that Bahdi clips Schofield on the way in and then lights him up as they slug it out.
It’s pretty close to outside, though. I really can’t emphasize that speed advantage enough, and beyond that, Schofield’s jab and switch-hitting prowess will make it profoundly difficult for Bahdi to find his timing. Heck, the feather-fisted Armando Casamonica kept Bahdi buttoned up for long stretches of their fight with meat-and-potatoes volume punching. With such tight windows of opportunity and such low output in general, the odds of Bahdi finding the money shot are mighty slim. Provided Schofield keeps his head on straight and doesn’t sell out for a quick finish, exposing his chin in the process, it’s his fight to lose.
Schofield vs Bahdi Predictions: Who wins?
Scott: Some people seem to regret getting excited about prospects who lose a fight “ahead of schedule,” like it has brought shame to their house or something. I don’t. I’m excited about Schofield as a talent, but I am admittedly less sure about a lot of other things. Still, in the ring, Bahdi is a clear underdog and will probably have to rely on Schofield making a critical mistake, and then Bahdi has to actually capitalize on it. That part is harder than people make out; even if the opening is there, you get split seconds to take them most of the time. I don’t think Schofield will put the rush on Bahdi like he did Farmer, whatever limitations Bahdi may have, and while he’s not exactly a massive KO artist — the guy is a much bigger puncher than Farmer. Schofield’s speed, athleticism, and power should see him out comfortably, and I think we see a stoppage in the last third. Floyd Schofield by TKO in Round 9
Patrick: I’m not sure this metaphor really fits considering I don’t rank Bahdi much higher than Rene Tellez Giron and Tevin Farmer, if at all, but I sort of see this as a final exam for Schofield before properly surmounting the world stage. If he applies everything he’s learned and everything he’s capable of, he should win easily; all he has to do is work the jab, vary his offense, and control his momentum so that he can slip back out of range before Bahdi can fire back. If he gets conceited and chases the knockout, Bahdi has what it takes to teach him a very memorable lesson. Unfortunately for “Prince,” there’s just way too much going Schofield’s way to entertain that possibility. Bahdi would just barely have a puncher’s chance against the laziest Schofield we’ve seen to date, and even with a long layoff to overcome, that torching of Farmer suggests Bahdi won’t be that lucky. Floyd Schofield by Unanimous Decision
