FLOYD Schofield is set to encounter a fiddly puzzle, perhaps more akin to a game of twister than chess, when he takes on Tevin Farmer this Saturday.
The pair will lock horns in an intriguing lightweight offering at the Honda Center, California, featuring on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Despite coming off three back-to-back defeats, former world champion Farmer, 33-8-1 (8 KOs), nonetheless remains one of his division’s most sturdy operators, representing an enormous step-up for his unproven opponent.
More than anything, the crafty veteran knows exactly how to control the distance, always utilising his feet to dart in-and-out of range – and counterpunch – at the right moments.
With that advantage, the 34-year-old was able to befuddle William Zepeda, a relentless but technically-limited contender, through large spells of their 22 rounds.
At the same time, Farmer proved that, while not possessing the same degree of speed or explosiveness he once had, his boxing brain is educated enough that, even at this late stage of his career, he remains a nightmare for any fighter wishing to prove themselves at world level.
That, of course, is exactly what will be running through the mind of Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs), an alluring prospect wishing to launch himself closer towards a meaningful title shot.
The 22-year-old was supposed to face WBC world champion Shakur Stevenson earlier this year, but a bizarre fight-week illness ultimately inspired the British Boxing Board of Control to remove him from the contest.
It is highly unlikely, though, that the American, even at his physical best, would have shone brightly in a fight of such magnitude.
His development, after all, has kept him far removed from what most would consider a meteoric rise, defined by a series of genuine acid tests along the way.
Rather, Schofield has chugged along at a sensibly-steady pace, with his last outing – a points victory over Rene Giron – providing a mixture of promising attacks and defensive vulnerabilities.
For all his physical advantages, a more reckless, and therefore sloppy, approach saw him drop to the canvas in the 11th round.
And while the knockdown was far from catastrophic, it nonetheless arrived as a result of the athletically-gifted puncher’s mistakes.
Should they reappear this weekend, those mistakes will be swiftly sniffed out, and ultimately exploited, by Farmer, whose experience could even force Schofield to confront a string of challenges that he has never seen before.
That said, the natural athletic prowess of Schofield, not to mention a 12-year age gap, should still be too exuberant for the ageing frame of ‘2X.’
FLOYD SCHOFIELD VS TEVIN FARMER FIGHT PREDICTION
After getting tied up in knots for the first few rounds, Schofield will remain undeterred by the power of Farmer and launch a selection of his more potent attacks, eye-catching enough to swing a fiercely-contested points decision in his favour.
