CHICAGO — Floyd Schofield III captured the vacant WBA lightweight title with a gritty unanimous-decision victory over Canada’s Lucas Bahdi on Saturday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, prevailing by scores of 116-110, 119-108 and 115-111 to join the 135lbs championship ranks alongside Abdullah Mason and Golden Boy Promotions stablemate William Zepeda.
The 24-year-old from Austin, Texas, improved to 20-0 after scoring a third-round knockdown and surviving an 11th-round knockdown to get the decision, claiming the belt vacated after Gervonta “Tank” Davis was stripped for his involvement in a domestic-violence criminal case. Both men had spent more than a year out of the ring awaiting the resolution. “Kind of feels like a dream. This is what I’ve been working on since I was 2-years-old – never played soccer, never played football ... I wanted to box,” Schofield said. “My dad has a world champion.”
Switching to southpaw and bouncing for position, Schofield hurt the 32-year-old Bahdi, now 20-1, with thundering right hands in the third before a left hook sent him to the ropes for the knockdown. Bahdi thought he had returned the favour later in the round with a right to the body, but referee Benjamin Rodriguez disagreed, and the official also failed to rule knockdowns when Schofield touched the canvas after heavy shots in the sixth and when his right knee brushed the canvas after a right to the head in the ninth. Bahdi finally floored Schofield in the 11th with a right to the head while stepping on his foot, after a doctor had inspected swelling around Bahdi’s right eye. “He had quick feet. Every time I tried to set and swing, he was gone. I got him a couple times, but he’s game, a warrior,” Bahdi said.
“I wanted to beat his ass. He hit me with a shot,” Schofield said. “Switching southpaw worked seamlessly. Lucas is a power puncher. He’s got pop, I was embarrassed a bit, but wanted to get it back.” Under firm orders from his father-trainer to box and avoid another knockdown, Schofield moved fluidly in the 12th to see out the contest, having earlier flashed the rapid hand speed that delivered a first-round knockout of former 130lbs champion Tevin Farmer in June 2025. “He boxed, stuck to the gameplan,” his father said. “Honestly, I’m going to go in the room and cry. It was hard, but we made it. We’re no longer homeless. I did my job as a dad.”
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said Schofield will be pointed towards unification if he is not obligated to face mandatory challenger and former WBA super-lightweight champion Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, naming Mexico’s WBC champion Zepeda and WBO champion Mason as targets while Olympic gold medallist Andy Cruz nears contention for the IBF belt. “I thought he fought perfectly,” De La Hoya said of Schofield.