Schofield wins the WBA lightweight title as Mendoza shocks Sandoval in Chicago

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Floyd Schofield won the vacant WBA lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Lucas Bahdi at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, SportsGrid reports. The scores were 116-110, 119-108 and 115-111. Schofield moves to 20-0 with 13 knockouts. It was his first fight in 469 days

It was not straightforward. In round three, Schofield knocked Bahdi through the ropes, and Bahdi beat the count. In round nine, a Bahdi right sent Schofield's knee to the canvas, which was not ruled a knockdown even though the replay showed his knee touching. In round 11, a Bahdi right did put Schofield down, but he survived to the final bell

Schofield credited his father's game plan afterwards. He said he stuck to it and was glad to have achieved what he did. He also said he wanted to go and enjoy time with his son and baby girl, leaving future plans to Oscar De La Hoya and his dad. We discussed the rehydration row and Schofield's weight miss in the weigh in thread, so a tough fight was always possible

The co-main event produced a big shock. The Ring reports that Sergio Mendoza stopped WBA and WBC flyweight champion Ricardo Sandoval at 1:46 of round five. Mendoza knocked Sandoval down three times, twice in round two and once in round five. Sandoval had been a heavy favourite, and it was his first stoppage loss in 30 professional fights

Mendoza took the fight on about three weeks' notice after Oscar Collazo withdrew with a rib injury. His previous fight had ended in a second round stoppage loss in Tokyo, which he blamed on making 108 pounds when he is naturally a 112 pound fighter. He dedicated the win to his brother, who recently passed away. It is a wonderful story of resilience

Was Schofield's performance convincing enough to call him a top lightweight? And is Mendoza's win the upset of the year?

Schofield beats Bahdi by unanimous decision to win WBA lightweight titlewww.sportsgrid.com