NEWARK, N.J. — O’Shaquie Foster understands that defending his title on ESPN means more than just building a record. It’s also an audition for a bigger opportunity that he hopes will bring him the WBC junior lightweight title.

The 30-year-old Foster (22-2, 12 knockouts) will defend his 130-pound title this Saturday (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) when he faces Brazilian contender Robson Conceicao at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The fight, which will be a primary backup for hometown favorite Shakur Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title defense against Artem Harutyunyan, is one he can’t afford to ignore. Not just because of the danger the three-time title challenger poses, but because of the rewards a great performance could bring.

“I’m definitely not looking at Robson Conceicao. He’s the number one guy in my mind, I’m not really worried about anyone else,” said Foster, who hails from Orange, Texas, though that hasn’t stopped him from envisioning the unification possibilities he’s dreamed of since winning the vacant title in February 2023 against Rey Vargas.

He has made no secret of the fact that he wants fights with WBA titleholder Lamont Roach, who just defended his title last week in Washington, and Anthony Cacace, the IBF titleholder who shocked Joe Cordina in eight rounds to lift the belt in May. But it’s not just about what he wants. He has to make the audience want those fights, too.

“In an ideal world, I would love for them to be next. I would love for me to get Lamont. We fought back to back weeks, so obviously we could have made that fight happen, but I think he had other plans. We’ll get back to it later, but definitely Anthony Cacacace, the guy who just beat Cordina, all those guys. I would love to fight all of them for sure,” Foster said.

Foster’s manager Keith Mills, who began working with ‘Shock’ in 2016, says his job of lining up the biggest fights possible for his client will never be simple, but admits Foster could aid his cause by taking on a fighter who has proven to be a tough opponent for previous titleholders he has faced.

“It’s a lot more enticing for Shock to go in there and just be Shock. That’s all we need from him. Just be himself and look good doing it. It’s a lot easier to put on the bigger fights for the money that we want and put on the substantial shows that we want,” Mills said.

“After we get past him, we’ll really just sit down with Top Rank because they know what we’re looking for. We’re looking for substantial fights, we want to really push Shock forward so the world can see his talent and we want to do it on a substantial stage. The 130-pound division is starting to shake out and you’re starting to see contenders getting eliminated. But the guys that are here, we believe they’re ready for substantial fights.”

First up, Foster must face Conceicao (18-2-1, 9 KOs), a 35-year-old from Salvador, Brazil, who scored a seventh-round stoppage win over Jose Ivan Guardado Ortiz in April. The 2016 Olympic gold medalist has failed to win a title in three previous fights against Oscar Valdez, Stevenson and Emanuel Navarreta, although his no-holds-barred approach allowed him to come back from two knockdowns to salvage a draw in their fight last November.

Foster says this fight is a chance for him to prove he is far better than the other champions and to build interest in the kind of opportunities he wants.

“He’s got a lot of experience as a gold medalist and I think he’s got heart and he doesn’t give up. That’s why I think he’s persevered through those tough fights. He keeps getting second chances and I think I’m his fourth chance. He comes in and fights and doesn’t back down. I think that’s the most significant thing for him. But I plan on going in there and taking that away from him,” Foster said.

“He’s fought all the top guys, so this gives me a chance to stand out and show the fans that I’m something different.”

Foster had a similar opportunity in his last defense, a split decision win over Abraham Nova in February that Foster later admitted was disappointing. The fight was Foster’s first since signing with Top Rank. He says he was hampered by a hard weight cut and plantar fasciitis that made it hard for the mobile puncher to move. He adds that it was his first time dealing with an injury and it was a challenge for him to overcome both mentally and physically.

“I’m fully healed, so I’m excited to bring back that other element of my fighting style. I’ve never been a guy who just sits in front of these guys and throws punches, I’ve always treated boxing like a dance. Being able to move freely and not feel pain, it feels great,” Foster said.

Now, he says, it’s his second chance to make a first impression, one that he hopes will make fans — and promoters — want to see him on a bigger stage.

“It would be even better if I got stopped. Even if he goes 12 rounds and I win a unanimous decision or go the distance, I definitely plan on going out there and separating myself from the guys he’s fought in the past,” Foster said.

William Zepeda will return to action against Giovanni Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight main event this Saturday, July 6, live on DAZN from inside the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM ET.

(Photo credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)

Ranked number one by the four lightweight sanctioning organizations, Golden Boy-promoted William Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) fought Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs).

This isn’t the fight Zepeda’s promoters wanted, as they were hoping for a title shot against WBC 135-pound champion Shakur Stevenson, but that’s not happening. Cabrera, 29, is the best Zepeda has to offer, so he’ll have to be elated for now.

Zepeda vs. Cabrera Event Information

Start time: 8:00 PM ET on DAZN
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California

Zepeda, 28, has been in incredible form recently, beating these four players:

-Maxi Hughes: RTD 4
– Mercito Gesta: TKO 6
-Jaime Arboleda: KO 2
-Joseph “JoJo” Diaz: UD 12

Zepeda is a bad style for Cabrera because he doesn’t have much power and mostly boxes, looking for decisions. He’s like a taller, less graceful version of Maxi Hughes.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Cabrera is a tidy boxer with excellent skills. He has been defeated only once in his career, a 12-round split decision over Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz last July.

Cabrera handled the pressure of Pitbull Cruz well and was on the attack in the championship rounds, outpointing the 5’4” Mexican star. He could have won this fight if he had started attacking Cruz earlier, as he was the better fighter in the final moments.

Of all the 135-pound fighters, Zepeda has the best fighting style to defeat WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.

Given the pressure and high tempo of Zepeda’s offensive game, this would be a really bad style for Shakur and he would have to move more than in any other fight he’s had.

Unfortunately, he won’t be able to beat Zepeda this way unless the case turns out to be controversial, and that can’t be ruled out.

Event details

• Date: Saturday, July 6
• Start time: 7pm PDT (3am Sunday UK time)
• Streaming: DAZN
• Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California.

Updated fight card:

• Main Event: William Zepeda vs. Giovanni Cabrera – 12 Rounds, Lightweight
• Co-Main Event: Ricardo Sandoval vs. Angel Acosta – 10 Rounds, Flyweight
• Preliminary Card: Manuel Flores vs. Nohel Arambulet – 10 Rounds, Super Bantamweight
• Preliminary Card: Joel Iriarte vs. Yainel Alvarez – 6 Rounds, Welterweight
• Elimination Fight of the Night: Alex Martin vs. Pedro Campa – 10 Rounds, Super Lightweight
• Eliminations: Gael Cabrera vs. Mychaquell Shields – 4 rounds, bantamweight
• Eliminations: Joshua Garcia vs. Jason Buenaobra – 6 rounds, super featherweight
• Eliminations: Anthony Saldivar vs. Roman Canto – 4 Rounds, Super Welterweight
• Eliminations: Daniel Luna vs. Joseph Walker – 4 Rounds, Lightweight
• Eliminations: Japhethlee Llamido vs. Ryan Allen – 8 rounds, super bantamweight

LAS VEGAS — Dana White has come to the defense of Ryan Garcia, who was recently suspended for a year by the Modern York Athletic Commission after he tested positive for a banned substance.

“From what my team tells me, and these guys are the damn best, [it was a] “Contaminated supplement,” UFC boss said.

Garcia put on the performance of a lifetime when he knocked down Devin Haney three times en route to a decision victory on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Modern York City, but that was later ruled null and void when drug testers detected Ostarine in the 25-year-old boxer’s urine.

His legal team issued a statement to WBN on May 31 stating, “The results of the tests on samples of two supplements declared by Ryan Garcia on VADA doping control forms signed on April 19 and 20 came back positive for ostarine contamination.”

They added that “confidential test reports” indicate the banned substance came from two NutraBIO-brand supplements.

NutraBIO has vehemently denied this, issuing a statement indicating that “no ostarine has been found in its products” after conducting its own testing.

CEO and founder Mark Glazier called Garcia’s claims “irresponsible,” adding, “Any express or implied statements suggesting that our product contained ostarine at the time of sale are completely without merit.”

A number of UFC fighters have tested positive for Ostarine in recent years, including UFC bantamweight champion and non-weight ranking star Sean O’Malley, who has an online rivalry with Garcia.

Following Saturday’s UFC 303 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, White spoke with World Boxing News and other reporters about Ostarine, Garcia and his ban from boxing.

“None of this is my business — it’s not my record,” he began. “I hate to talk about drug testing, but with all my knowledge… in the years [UFC has] “he was drug tested, we believe the people doing the drug testing were taking contaminated supplements and were not cheating.”

White said that if Garcia “had the right people around him,” none of this would have happened.

He reiterated that as the president of a leading MMA organization, he has “no skin” in the boxing business. “I don’t care; it’s not my fight, it’s not my business.”

However, he added that the UFC is “pretty sure it was a tainted supplement.”

While Garcia’s ban expires in April 2025, that does not in any way diminish his status as one of boxing’s biggest stars.

As reported last month, Garcia could face at least two more world title shots after serving his suspension.

Premier Boxing Champions consultant Stephen Espinoza has welcomed the fight between PBC star Gervonta Davis and Golden Boy Promotions boxer Garcia, calling it a “huge, huge rematch” in an exclusive interview with World Boxing News.

Boxing coach Bob Santos, on the other hand, in an interview with us in which he discussed the mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Barrios in behind schedule 2024, apparently would like to see his fighter Mario Barrios fight Garcia next year.