O’Shaquie Foster shades Abraham Nova to retain WBC junior-lightweight title

O’Shaquie Foster certainly isn’t afraid to leave things too late.

The 30-year-old Texan retained his WBC junior lightweight title with a split-decision win over Abraham Nova on Friday night, taking control in the later stages and punctuating the closer-than-expected affair with a knockdown in the final 20 seconds. of the last round. Two ringside judges scored Foster with scores of 115-112 and 116-111, while a third scored Nova 114-113. (The Guardian scored it 115-112 for Foster.)

Before a crowd of several thousand people at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Foster overcame a game challenger fighting on home turf and what appeared to be a right biceps injury in the fifth round to tighten the result in his second title defense. His first, four months ago in Cancun, also required a final kick, the outcome of which was in doubt in the final session.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but when I went to throw with my right hand (in the fifth), his elbow hit the middle of my bicep, which tightened my stuff up a little bit,” Foster said. subsequently. “My rhythm wasn’t good tonight, but it’s all good. We went home with the win, so I can’t complain.â€

The switch-hitting Foster (22-2, 10 KOs) came out in an orthodox stance at the opening bell and struggled to find his footing in the first few rounds. The tough Nova doubled and tripled his jab to keep the champion at bay, stepping into the pocket to throw harder shots when opportunities presented themselves.

Nova (23-2, 16 KOs), a native of Puerto Rico who lived in upstate New York and left as a 7-1 underdog, got off to an inspired start, even if Foster immediately looked more comfortable when he switched to southpaw to to open the third. But just when it looked like he was losing control of the action, Nova landed a series of looping shots midway through the fourth that sent Foster across the ring and brought the crowd to their feet.

At the same time that Nova began to show signs of fatigue in the fifth, the champion began to increase his work rate and take command. At that point, Foster came away from an altercation wincing and shaking his right hand in pain.

After a bad flag in the sixth, Nova found a spare early in the seventh, knocking Foster along the ropes with a series of punches. Foster was the fitter man and made the more accurate shots. But Nova, despite a split lower lip that left a crimson stain on his blond beard, stayed afloat with sheer buzz, volume and punch resistance.

Even with the compromised right hand, the fresher Foster was able to stack rounds during the second half of the fight by landing the cleaner, harder shots. He spent the 10th in tearing apart his stubborn enemy with sharp blows to the head and body. The 11th ended with both men trading hellfire along the ropes. Then came the 12th, where Nova’s granite chin absorbed one concussion after another until Foster finally dropped him with a short left hook in the closing seconds that erased all doubt.

“I’m a 12-shot fighter and I know how to judge from the right,” said Foster, who landed 139 of 429 shots (32.4%), compared to 122 of 701 for Nova (17.4%). , according to Compubox’s punch statistics. “He started off strong at first, but I found my rhythm and his timing, and then I started to pick it up.”

Nova insisted that the knockdown was a slip and should not have cost him an extra point on the final scorecards, but accepted the outcome. “O’Shaquie is a great fighter,” he said. “He hit me, but I slipped. I lost my balance. I wasn’t hurt.â€

Foster, who grew up in the small east Texas town of Orange and lives in Houston, captured the vacant WBC 130-pound title just over a year ago when he battled his way to a clean 12-round unanimous decision over Rey Vargas, the previously undefeated two-division champion bidding for a title in a third weight class. But it wasn’t until his first defense in October that he made his mark on the division, coming from behind on two scorecards. to stop Eduardo Hernández in the 12th round after an action-packed 11th being called Ring Magazine’s round of the year.

Since then, Foster has jumped from Matchroom to Top Rank, signing a deal that will reportedly put him on ESPN three times a year. After making his debut with the company on Friday evening, there is no shortage of opportunities at 130lbs. Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete, who holds the WBO version of the junior lightweight title, is widely considered the class of the division. Other possible unification fights include Lamont Roach Jr, who owns the WBA title, or Joe Cordina, who owns the IBF belt.

“Eventually I’m going to go to 135, but I’m going to try to get a few more fights in at 130,” Foster said. “I’ll take the winner of Óscar Valdez and Liam Wilson (on March 29), or if we can get Lamont Roach. I know Navarrete is going to 135 to fight someone, but if he comes back, I’m ready for that too.”