On Thursday afternoon, 20-year-old "Kid Austin" Floyd Schofield got the biggest opportunity of his professional life. He is set to headline the AT&T Center, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovic, and now Victor Wembanyama. However, before Wemby gets to headline the AT&T Center, the Kid from Austin, just an hour away from his hometown, will headline that venue. The opportunity came as a shock to "Kid Austin," who read it in a Boxing Scene article, just like fight fans around the world. Unfortunately, Vergil Ortiz was forced out of the fight due to medical reasons. Schofield then received a phone call confirming that he was, indeed, headlining the AT&T Center. Still in shock that he was getting the call to headline, Schofield said, "No way! You're lying?" No lies were detected, and Schofield will battle Haskell Rhodes, 28-4-1 (13), in Saturday's main event. It's a good litmus test for the 20-year-old. Rhodes who now lives and trains in Las Vegas, has been in with world title holders and elite-level fighters like Sergey Lipinets, Edner Cherry, and Jason Sosa. Rhodes was stopped by Jason Sosa back in 2019, then took a three-and-a-half-year hiatus from the sport before stepping back in the ring in March and outpointing well-known journeymen Raymond Chacon in Oklahoma City.
This won't be the first time Schofield has gotten to headline a card. It won't even be the first time he's headlined in San Antonio. The Austinite has headlined several Davies Entertainment Cards at their local venue and has headlined a Golden Boy Fight Night Live Card. The Golden Boy prospect-heavy series. In October, Schofield destroyed Daniel Rosas in less than one round when he was given the opportunity to be the main event in Indio, California. Saturday at the AT&T Center is simply a far bigger stage against a much more rigid opponent. A win Saturday night gets the Austinite in the world title picture at lightweight. Currently, all the titles in the division are held by Devin Haney. Haney and Schofield have a highly discussed past. A past that includes a famed sparring session where multiple observers noted that the Kid from Austin got the best of it and had Haney wobbled. That's the fight Schofield wants in the future, and wants it with Haney at his best, no excuses! "If he's not comfortable at 135 and he needs to go up. I don't want to beat him, and he says he shoulda fought at 140, and hes drained. I dont want no excuses! When I say I beat you, I beat the best version of you."
Schofield also acknowledges that Haney probably should move up to 140 because he may have outgrown the lightweight division. If Haney chose to do that, all of the current lightweight belts would become vacant, and Schofield would be on a fast track for one of those belts. However, he needs to take care of business tomorrow. A w in tomorrow would move his record from 14-0 (11) to 15-0 and would put Schofield at 3-0 for the year. He has wins over Alberto Mercado in January and Jesus Valentin in April on the Tank Davis-Ryan Garcia card. Upon speaking to Golden Boy President Eric Gomez, they would like to bring Schofield back late this year for a possible showdown with either former Olympian and 130-pound world champion and fan favorite JoJo Diaz or fellow Texan Hector Tanajara of San Antonio. A win there certainly fast-tracks Schofield to a world title fight.