Floyd Schofield Jr. entered Saturday night unbeaten and chasing the championship he had imagined since childhood. Lucas Bahdi entered unbeaten and carrying enough power to force Schofield to rethink how he intended to win it.
Twelve rounds later, only one perfect record remained.
Schofield defeated Bahdi by unanimous decision at Wintrust Arena in Chicago to capture the vacant WBA lightweight championship, improving to 20-0 and handing Bahdi the first loss of his professional career. The judges scored the fight 116-110, 119-108 and 115-111 for Schofield.
For the 24-year-old known as “Kid Austin,” the belt represented the end of one pursuit and the beginning of a much larger one in a loaded lightweight division.
“Honestly, that kind of feels like a dream,” Schofield said afterward. “This is what I’ve been working for since I was 2 years old.”
Speed Meets Power
The contrast between the unbeaten lightweights appeared almost immediately. Schofield had the quicker hands and more athletic movement, while Bahdi carried the heavier punches and looked for opportunities to catch him coming forward.
Schofield initially wanted something more confrontational.
“I wanted to box, but I was like, you know what? I’m trying to beat his ass,” Schofield said. “But then he hit me with a shot. I was like, ‘Yeah, he got some power. It’s best to just stay on the back foot.’”
The adjustment became the story of the fight.
Schofield used the ring, changed directions and switched to southpaw at his father and trainer Floyd Schofield Sr.’s urging. Bahdi continued pursuing him, trying to set his feet long enough to unleash the power that had stopped 15 of his first 20 professional opponents.
Schofield scored the fight’s first official knockdown in the third round after hurting Bahdi and sending him backward into the ropes. The ropes kept Bahdi upright, prompting the referee to begin a count.
The response from Bahdi reminded Schofield why movement mattered.
He landed a heavy left hand that buckled Schofield’s knees and later hurt him again near the ropes. Late in the ninth round, a right hand appeared to force Schofield’s knee to the canvas while he held on, but the referee did not rule it a knockdown.
Schofield admitted afterward that his first instinct was to retaliate.
“If it wasn’t for my dad, I was trying to get that back because I felt embarrassed a little bit,” he said. “But my dad was saying, you know, take every round by every round. It’s not worth getting caught with a shot.”
Schofield Adjusts
That patience allowed Schofield to regain control. Rather than trade unnecessarily, he kept circling, made Bahdi reset and piled up rounds with his speed and activity.
Bahdi finally received an official knockdown in the 11th round when another right hand sent Schofield down. Schofield got up immediately and continued, and the knockdown ultimately canceled out the one-point advantage he had gained by dropping Bahdi in the third.
“He had quick feet,” Bahdi said afterward. “Every time I tried to set and throw, he was gone.”
The challenger believed the fight was closer than the widest scorecard suggested and noted that he had been the aggressor throughout the night, but offered no excuses for the defeat.
“I had a great camp. I got no excuses,” Bahdi said. “He’s a great fighter, young kid.”
A Belt Years in the Making
The championship carried a different meaning for Schofield Sr., who has guided his son throughout his career.
Asked to grade the performance, the elder Schofield gave his new world champion a B.
“He stuck to the game plan,” Schofield Sr. said. “I know that young cat wanted to come out and bang, but why risk that against somebody like Lucas?”
The strategy worked, but the result went well beyond a scorecard for father and son.
They spoke afterward about years when they were homeless and moving between gyms while trying to keep Schofield’s boxing career alive. Standing beside his son with a world championship finally secured, Schofield Sr. struggled to contain the emotion.
“I’m going to go in the room and cry,” he said. “I’m keeping it real, y’all. I’m holding it together. But yo, we made it, man. It was hard.”
Then he added a line that explained what the belt meant beyond boxing.
“I did my job as a dad.”
From Prospect to Player
Schofield’s victory immediately changes his place in the lightweight division.
Golden Boy Promotions chairman Oscar De La Hoya called Schofield the company’s 41st world champion and wasted little time discussing what could come next.
“We’re excited to unify the world titles with anybody,” De La Hoya said.
Schofield was less interested in making his next fight from inside the ring. Asked about the other belts available at 135 pounds, he deferred to his father and De La Hoya and said his immediate plans involved his family, the holidays and some Chicago food.
There will be plenty of time for the bigger fights.
Saturday belonged to a father and son who had spent years trying to reach this point, and to a 24-year-old who entered the ring as an unbeaten contender and left it as something different.
A world champion.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
