Floyd Schofield wants to fight Abdullah Mason before moving to light welterweight, making a potential unification his goal before leaving the 135-pound division.
Schofield first needs to beat Lucas Bahdi for the vacant WBA lightweight title on October 10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. A victory would give him a belt to bring into a potential unification with WBO champion Mason, rather than pursuing the fight as a challenger.
“I told my dad before I go to 40, that’s the fight I want,” Schofield said to The Ring. “I want to give the fans the fights they want to see. Us being so young, that’s a fight where, if it’s a great fight, who knows? Two years down the line, three years down the line, we might have another fight.”
Schofield also floated a possible trilogy, but getting the first bout made would require his handlers to share his enthusiasm. Golden Boy could have a newly crowned champion after Saturday, and immediately putting him against Mason would mean risking that title before Schofield has made a defense.
That would be a serious test of how quickly his promoter wants to push him. Schofield’s first-round knockout of Tevin Farmer showed how destructive he can be, but such a short fight offered little opportunity to assess his ability to adjust over a long contest. A Mason matchup would ask considerably more of him.
Schofield’s willingness is encouraging. Young fighters can spend years discussing each other while their teams wait for the money to grow. He is talking about meeting Mason while both still have much of their careers ahead of them.
There are no confirmed negotiations in this interview, however, and Bahdi has the opportunity to spoil the entire plan. Schofield needs to leave Chicago with the WBA belt before his proposed unification becomes a realistic next step.
