Floyd Schofield Survives Latest Taunt, Claims Success With Defeat Rene Tellez Giron
Floyd Schofield Jr. he overcame a knockdown and several corner kicks to maintain his perfect record.
22-year-old rising welterweight Rene Tellez Giron went twelve rounds. Judges Tim Cheatham (118-109), Patricia Morse Jarman (116-111) and David Sutherland (118-109) scored Schofield in their DAZN co-main event on Saturday at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
It was mostly a show put on by Schofield (18-0, 12 knockouts), though not without some early and late drama. He was rocked in the last 30 seconds of the third round. Schofield was then warned by referee Thomas Taylor not to turn his back, after complaining about being hit in the back of the head.
The round ended with Schofield completely missing the arrival of his corner chair. A one-minute rest period was spent with the young boxer enduring some language from his father and head coach, Floyd Schofield Sr.
It was clearly heard.
Schofield has been warned to avoid a fight with Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs), who is undefeated in 24 fights. He responded by sticking to his jab throughout the fourth round and delivered frequent moves in the following rounds.
Still, Schofield is a fighter at heart and couldn’t resist trading Tellez Giron. He was winning rounds and dominating the punch count as he appeared to be on his way to victory.
“I hit him with a four-point combination,” Schofield told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. He didn’t move and I said, ‘Damn.’
Tellez Giron made him sweat the last four minutes of the night. A sweeping left hook, after Tellez Giron landed a right hand, sent Schofield to the canvas for the first time in his career late in the eleventh. Schofield hit the count and—naturally—threw caution to the wind as he chose to fight.
Tellez Giron’s last attempt made for the 12th and final round. Schofield was easy to find because he wanted to stand and trade, rather than use his legs and make his opponent find him. It didn’t end there, although Floyd Sr.’s displeasure was met.
Schofield went the twelve-round distance for the first time in his four-year career. He went ten rounds to win over Haskell Rhodes last July.
“I feel really good,” Schofield. “My father wanted me to hit and use my legs a lot. But I wanted to give the fans a show.”
Naturally, attention will turn to what follows.
Given his age and maturity, it would be wise to continue to improve. Schofield has big dreams, which is a matchup against former three-time undefeated No. 1 Shakur Stevenson.
“Everybody knows who I want,” Schofield said without mentioning Stevenson by name.
His team didn’t like the idea, or even his performance.
“Being a fighter myself, I give Floyd a C-minus,” said Oscar De La Hoya, organizer of Schofield’s Hall of Fame. “He is only 22 years old. There is no rush. He wants to fight all the top guys. But he has to slow down a bit and go back to the drawing board.”
