Schofield's Title Win, Mendoza's Upset & Whitaker's 12-Round Test

Sarah C: What's up, fight fans? It is your host, Sarah C here, back on Between the Rounds. Now, last night in Chicago, we had Golden Boy and Most Valuable Promotions Who put on a pretty entertaining card last night? And the matchmaking itself deserves a pat on the back Because the night produced a new world champion, a genuine upset, and a highlight stoppage from a young prospect who already looks like he belongs on bigger stages. so this evening, I'm gonna break down the main event between Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi and then the co-main where Sergio Mendoza took the unified flyweight titles off Ricardo Sanduval. I also want to touch on Naomi Valle's US debut. She was the only female fight on that card last night. And the undercard performance that deserves a special mention, Jamal Harvey's third-round TKO. Now in this episode I also want to cover a recap on Ben Whitaker's fight last weekend in Birmingham and then run through some bigger news on what's coming up next. So let's get into it. So Floyd Schofield Is the new WBA lightweight champion of the world. He won by unanimous decision over Lucas Bahdi on paper, this was two undefeated lightweights. In the ring, it was a high output chess match between two athletic fighters who both understood the danger. From the opening bell, neither could switch off. Schofield is certainly the quicker, sharper mover, but body carries real power, especially to the body, and with that overhand right. from the opening round, Schofield was light on his feet. He had a sharp jab and he was landing clean back hands. Now his corner were reminding him to continue moving to his right away from Bahdi's big power hand because he did feel that power and you could tell he was like, I am avoiding all of that. And for long stretches of the fight, he listened. But of course he's gonna get caught. Now there was a clear pattern forming in Schofield's footwork. And against a more skillful operator, they'll pick up on that. And what I noticed was he was taking two steps to the to the left and then would canter off on the back foot to the right side. And against a more skillful operator who knows how to cut off the ring better, will recognise that pattern and get prepared for when he's about to make that step back to his opponent's left side. Now it was predictable if you're watching closely, But someone like Badhi just couldn't cut the ring off and actually got pretty frustrated with the constant movement from Schofield. That being said, Badhi landed big body shots that forced Schofield to respond with flurries. and at times during the fight he connected with really solid overhand backhands that Schofield took really well. now, Schofield did switch to South Pole from time to time and kept that movement constant. In the third round he did score a flash knockdown with a check left hook, but body got up and kept coming. it was like he didn't respect the power coming from Schofield at all. And then the middle rounds were staying quite close. Baddy landed a big left hook that buckled the knees of Schofield. In the sixth Schofield got buzzed, then came back with his own, and then got buzzed again. He ate another big overhand, and one of those should have probably been a knockdown, but the referee didn't call it. and then in the ninth, Schofield's knee touched the canvas. Again, no call from the referee. But Baddie finally got an official knockdown in the eleventh, one that was probably not an actual knockdown, but between the couple of missed moments from the referee, it was deserving at that point. But Schofield's feet and jab were the difference. And kudos to him, he never switched off throughout the twelve rounds. Now, the 119 to 108 card was wide. the other two better reflect the competitive fight that still clearly belong to Schofield. But had one of the other knockdowns been scored, it would have been a much closer outcome. So he's the champion for now. But looking ahead for Schofield, the fight he's calling for next is William Cepeda. Now both of them are with Golden Boy, so it should make for a clean unification fight at the lightweight division. Cepeda is the WBC champion and he's a high volume pressure fighter who never stops coming. Both Schofield and his dad have said that they really are targeting that one. So he can start going after the rest of the belts. Now the pros are obvious. It's a real unification. It's not any sort of soft defense. The styles should produce a good fight. it's the same promoter, so it removes a lot of the usual friction that we face. And a win puts him in a strong spot for the rest of the division. But the cons are just as clear. Cepeda's pressure and punch volume are. Are exactly the kind of sustained work that made body dangerous. So if Schofield can't keep his exits clean for 12 rounds, this fight won't end in his favor. There's also the practical hurdle that Cepeda has a WBC mandatory in front of him next, and that needs navigating. While Oscar was initially non committal when asked about it right after the fight. did push him on it to say that it makes sense to be the next one. And so Oscar did say, Yeah, look, we're gonna look into it next. but listen, it's a high risk first defense fight, but it's the logical one if Schofield is serious about this division rather than just holding the one belt. and last night did show the boy has talent, But it also exposes the question, can he really compete against the top within that division? I guess time will tell. Okay, next up we have Mendoza versus Sanduval. this was the co-main event that was the clearest upset of the night. Sergio Mendoza stopped Ricardo Sanduval in the fifth to take the unified WBA and WBC flyweight titles. Now Mendoza stepped in on short notice Calazzo withdrew and entered as a heavy underdog. Now this was Sandoval's first defence After he won the belt from Kishiro Taraji more than a year earlier. Mendoza is a dangerous fighter when he gets going. He has a high knockout rate, south paw pressure, and real power in those uppercuts and body shots. After a relatively quiet first round, he took over in the second. He dropped Sandoval with a right hook. And then followed up with a vicious left uppercut that put him down again. Nassandoval survived the round, but the bodywork never stopped. Mendoza was ripping both sides left hooks and uppercuts to the body, Including a brutal liver shot that visibly hurt. and what was really interesting is he kept the pressure without getting wild, which is what made this performance really stand out. Now Sandoval had a much better fourth round and tried to turn it into a phone booth fight, but Mendoza came back in the fifth with another knockdown and more bodywork. The referee stepped in at one minute 46 seconds, and that was after the third knockdown of the fight. Sandoval was against the ropes and was pretty compromised. He wasn't coming back with anything Mendoza had three knockdowns, consistent body attacks, and big uppercuts. But huge credit to Mendoza for taking home that unification last night. And seeing him in the post fight interview, it's moments like that that makes this sport really, really special. The sacrifices that he made. There was nights he said that his family went without any food. So a night like last night is something that's gonna change his life forever. Okay, moving on to the only female fight of the night, Naomi Valle from Costa Rica picked up a unanimous decision over Mexico's Sheila Moreno in an eight-round minimum weight. The scores were 77-74, 78-72, and 78-73. Valle moves to 16 and 1 with nine knockouts. And this was her first pro fight in the United States. Now I'm sure you recognize the surname because She's the younger sister of Yocasta Valle, the multi-division champion, who's also signed with MVP. both females fighting last night were 22 years old and both came in at 104.6 pounds. On paper, it looked like a solid step for the prospect. But in the ring, it was a much messier fight than the results actually suggested. for me, Valle's work wasn't actually the cleanest. She was falling in a lot on her shots. She was fighting quite small and getting involved in clinches. she was also deducted appointed the eighth for holding. Now, Moreno certainly made it awkward with the constant pressure, that kind of uncomfortable come forward style that forces you to adjust rather than to just box. Now Valle got the win and the US debut result she needed. and in fairness, she did acknowledge afterwards that her opponent was difficult and that she has plenty to clean up on For her next showing. But at this stage of her career, those kind of nights are useful. They show where the work still needs to go if she wants to follow the path of her sister. Okay, next up we have Jamal Harvey. He's just twenty-three years old and he advances to five and with four stoppages after last night and he stopped Pedro Castaneda in the third with a straight backhand. This was only his fifth pro fight And he just turned pro in August of 2025. But his amateur resume is elite. He's the 2021 World Championship Gold. He won gold in the 2023 Pan American Games and was a 2024 US Olympian. Now, physically, he's listed at around. Five foot five, five foot five and a half, and I'm sure that half inch he wants to hold on to with the sixty-seven inch reach. And that combination is rare. he is a natural South Pole, He switches to orthodox and can move back and forth between the two without it looking force. And he does it all while staying really, really sharp. And against his opponent last night, he was having so much fun. Now what I really noticed about Jamal Harvey's style was his long jab, his clean punching, and how quickly he's able to exit out of danger. Castaneta came forward but didn't throw a lot early. Harvey used his range really well and the stance switching to keep his opponent off balance. when Castaneta did open up, you could tell Harvey's hands were simply faster. The finish was a patient, well timed backhand that Castaneta did not see. now he got up from it, but he was on really unsteady legs and the referee waved it off. Now I will say Sergio Mora on commentary was asking to see a little bit more inside work from someone like Jamal Harvey. But for me to see him use his long range. And set up that shot so beautifully. I don't think that boy needs to sit on the inside for too long. he mentioned in the post-fight interview that actually he wasn't setting that shot up to be the knockout shot. He was going to follow through with a hook that he thought would be the knockout shot. But he saw Castaneta's eyes going down and he knew. He knew it was over. And I will say there's a reason only a handful of fighters switch stances successfully at the highest level. Because when it's clean like Harvey was, it multiplies the angles and the punch selection that that a fighter has. But when it's sloppy, you're easily timed for a counter. So the obvious path, I think they're gonna look to fast track him, right? Maybe another eight rounder and a couple of ten rounders and see where he's at. Because with the amateur success plus the early pro power means that he doesn't need to be protected he doesn't need much of a resume to build him up for world title contendership status. the question does become how comfortable will he get on the inside when the opponents start closing the distance more consistently? and then a quick mention on the prelims. Chicago's Christian Williams beat Golden Boys Prospect. Asia Stevens By unanimous decision. now, Stevens came in undefeated with a strong amateur credential out of Hawaii. But Williams is the local fighter who improved to 15 and 0 in front of his hometown crowd. It was an active fight. Williams said it himself after, that wasn't an upset. He knew exactly what he was going in with. it was just that his opponent was overlooking him. Okay, a quick touch on Ben Whitaker from last Saturday night in Birmingham. He won on a points decision against Connor Wallace, 117-111, 116-112, and 115 to 113, And became the IBF mandatory to Dmitry Bivall. Now, Whitaker started exactly as you'd expect. Fantastic distance management against his southpaw. He was calm and clear, The jab and the bodywork were accurate, the exits were clean, and he was winning the early rounds comfortably while Wallace was staying a bit gun shy. Again through the middle rounds, he stayed composed, disguising the attacks and landing clean, straight shots to the body. But by the eighth, the showboating started to creep in. and then the fight changed late. Wallace had a really strong tenth, he closed the distance, landed a big left hand, and made it rough on the inside. Andy Lee was telling Whitaker to get back to boxing, not to stand in exchange, And to come back with the backhand if he missed the check hook on the exit. In the eleventh It didn't look like Whitaker was actually listening. He was getting dragged into a scrap, looking down on the exits and giving Wallace more than he needed to. Wallace took him to his first twelve rounds and the twelfth was ugly. Wallace really hurt him. some would argue that they were three knockdowns that weren't called. And Whitaker was clearly hanging on for the last couple of minutes. it was a prime example of exhaustion in the legs, lack of focus, and lack of discipline. He was still doing the bravado and taking his eyes off the ball. And unfortunately Wallace just left it too late and didn't believe it until the later rounds. But once Whitaker was tired, the pressure arrived. Now it was obviously still a win on paper, but that 12 round changed the conversation. He went through real adversity, he was clearly hurt, and he had to hang on. He said himself in post-fight interviews that he took his eye off the ball. It was too easy for him. Whether it was COVID the week before or this was because of his first time going the full twelve rounds, it doesn't really matter once you're in the ring. But one thing's clear, he needs to get way better if he's going to face the bigger contenders such as Dimitri Bival. And I think looking at a yard or a Wallace rematch both make sense as a next step while he addresses the discipline issue and the late round focus that really slipped in this fight. he's gonna likely need one to two more fights before any sort of beevil opportunity is entertained. And the domestic options that makes most sense will be Anthony Yard, the winner of Buazzi versus Hutchinson or Hutchinson himself. Now, Yard is obviously the highest profile of the three, a three time title challenger with real one shot power, and he's one that's been calling out Whitaker. Now a controlled win against yard would quiten a lot of this talk about him being a protected prospect, but yard's power is not to be undermined. Now there's a useful parallel between Whitaker and Schofield's performances because both of them just cleared their immediate hurdles, But opened up major questions on whether they're ready for the top contenders of their division. So let's see if Schofield gets the opportunity against Cepeda and what what manifests there And let's see if Whitaker can sort a rematch with Wallace or a fight with Anthony Yard or Hutchinson that will really test his ability To go the distance and maintain discipline in the later rounds. Okay, so looking ahead Outside the ring, the Anthony Joshua Tyson Fury fight is finally made and officially sold out December eleventh at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, which will also be broadcast on Netflix. Now, after weeks of back and forth between Eddie Hearn and Dana White, Dana has actually been out front and center on media this week, and he sat down with Steve Bnce on 5live Boxing to clear up his involvement. Confirming he is in fact producing the show and that his team is already working on the production and that he will be in Cardiff for the fight night before flying straight back to Vegas for the UFC fight card. the public back and forth has been messy. And the question does remain that does Dana's involvement breach the contract on Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua's side? And ultimately, do the UK fans even want Dana White present on Fight Night. now. Separately, there's growing debate around the step back of Turkey Alashik's involvement in boxing, largely tied to his health. and the clearest signal is the reported sale of controlling interest in Ring Magazine 2D Zone. That moves one of the sports ranking and storytelling brands from Saudi's ownership Into a broadcaster's hands. And it fits the larger pattern of consolidation we've been watching. Now, early on, the Saudis were smart in trying to build an ecosystem around them across boxing from events, the huge fight cards, buying up the digital touch points and and press outlets. The business plan made sense on paper, but the execution, particularly with Ring magazine, has often felt more like a propaganda channel than an independent coverage. but I'll say it. If DZone takes real control of Ring magazine, maybe women's boxing might be treated as an equal in terms of fight coverage and not an afterthought or an occasional appearance on the platform. So I'll park my thoughts on that. Now looking ahead, this Saturday We have Daniel Dubois who defends his WBO heavyweight title in a rematch against Fabio Wardley at the O two in London. Their first fight in May was a fight of the year contender. It was a high risk, high reward, and the kind of night that can define a heavyweight career. Also this coming Saturday night in Vegas, We have Sebastian Vondora who defends his WBC super welterweight title. Against Irmal Hadrabaj at the Cosmopolitan Live on the Zone and TNT. So stay tuned because we'll have between the rounds coverage on that one. And then later this month, Shona Brown headlines on October 25th against the unbeaten Jade Burden for the vacant WBA gold and IBF international lightweight titles. She's the temporary fighter who became Ireland's first European professional women's champion A former Katie Taylor sparring partner And a regular guest here on Between the Rounds podcast. Dalton Smith also makes his first defense of his WBC super lightweight title on October twenty fourth in Sheffield against Alberto Puello Smith is the Sheffield man who stopped Subriel Mateas in Brooklyn in January. Puello is a two time former champion and an awkward South Pole mandatory, and he's coming back for his belt. And then Canelo's making his return to the ring Taking on Christian Imbele on October thirty first in Riyadh for the WBC super middleweight title. and in case you're wondering like me, what about all the female fights? MVP already has a stacked female card in Texas coming on November 8th. their seventh MVPW fight card in Arlington, Texas, live on ESPN with three confirmed world title fights, Headline by Elif Turan versus Alicia Baumgartner in the lightweight division. Still question marks whether Tiara Brown is going to be defending her title at featherweight. There has been rumors that Ellie Scotney has had to pull out due to injury, And there's no confirmation of a replacement opponent for her just yet. Sky Nicholson makes her MVP debut, defending her WBC super bantamweight title against three-time two division champion Mio Yoshida in a ten-rounder. Then Ramna Ali takes on undefeated Micah Krebs for the vacant WBO and IBF Super Bantamweight titles, also over ten rounds. and I hope to cover a fight preview with Melissa Smith in the coming weeks on that one. So plenty of fights across the next few weeks. I've been your host, Sarah C. Until next time, keep putting in the work between the rounds.