Floyd Schofield Jr. and his father, Floyd Sr., have confirmed that lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason’s recent two knockdowns he suffered earlier this month against the unheralded super featherweight Yohan Vasquez on November 8th were an indication that he has a weak chin.
Schofield Sr. says he’s been telling people that the 20-year-old Mason (16-0, 14 KOs) has a weak chin since he sparred with his son, lightweight contender Floyd Jr. He noted Mason’s inability to take a hard shot during the sparring sessions.
So when Floyd Sr. saw Mason getting dropped twice in the first round on November 8th by second-tier fighter Vasquez (26-6, 21 KOs) on November 8th at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, he wasn’t shocked by what he saw. It just showed what he’d already seen for himself from the sparring sessions with the 22-year-old Schofield Jr. (18-0, 12 KOs).
Mason said recently that he plans on fighting for a world title in 2025. But if he has a chin problem, he’s going to have to target the IBF belt once it’s vacated by Vasily Lomachenko because he’s probably not going to do well fighting any of the other champions.
Floyd Sr. said Top Rank is building Mason to try and make money off of him, and they’re going to try and make him look good with their matchmaking, meaning he’s going to be fed soft touches. Obviously, Mason wasn’t supposed to be knocked down by Vasquez, but his chin betrayed him. Even the best matchmaking isn’t foolproof.
“Abdullah don’t got a chin. I’ve been telling you that from day one. I watched what he did to Abullah in the ring,” said Floyd Schofield Sr. to MillCity Boxing about his son, Floyd Jr. having dominated Abdullah Mason in sparring.
“I told y’all when everyone was saying, ‘You’re making it up.’ I said every time he’d [Mason] get hit in the chin, his legs would buckle.’ His body can’t handle him getting hit in the face. Everybody said, ‘He’s capping, he’s lying.’ Now, they can see it with this easy a** guy [Yohan Vasquez].”
It doesn’t look like Schofield Sr. plans on putting his son in with Mason for sparring anymore for him to be ratting him out like this by exposing what went on during their training.
“The dude [Vasquez] came up from 126 and still bucked him. Abdullah has been fighting all 126. He has not fought no one at 130 with power, and they’re [Top Rank] building him. There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re building him so they can get a big payday. That’s what the promoters get. They don’t care about the fighters.”
Vasquez started his career at 126, but his last few fights have been at 130, and he does have power in his left hand. That left hook that he kept hitting Mason with looked lethal.
“They care about building them to see something so they can make [money]. But Adbullah isn’t a threat for us. Keyshawn isn’t a threat. Tank ain’t a threat, and Shakur ain’t a threat,” said Schofield Sr.
Top Rank will have to do a better job with Mason if he’s already having problems taking shots against this level of opponent. If he can’t handle the power of guys like Vasquez, Top Rank will need to keep Mason away from the top 25 killers that have pop in their punches, who will dent his chin, and ruin the chances of his promoters making a profit.
“My dad told y’all that,” said Floyd Schofield Jr. about Mason not having strong punch resistance.
