Foster will face Ford this Saturday night in Houston, Texas, defending his WBC super featherweight title against the former featherweight champion in a fight that is increasingly being linked to Stevenson due to connections between their camps.

Discussing the fight, Foster explained why he thinks a fight with Ford could raise demand for a future fight with Shakur.

“If we’re being truthful, he’s got a little bit more in his toolbox than Shakur,” Foster told Fighthype. “He’s not a bigger or bigger fighter in terms of distance and all that, but in terms of certain tools that he throws into the ring offensively, he does some things a little better than Shakur.”

Foster believes Ford’s style will give fans a taste of what a fight with Stevenson could look like, especially considering how much attention is already being placed on the possibility of the two eventually meeting.

“Ray’s style is he’s trying to imitate Shakur,” Foster said. “When they see I can handle it, they’ll be eager to see what I do to Shakur.”

Foster also spent much of the interview criticizing the amount of support Ford received from Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis and other fighters connected to their circle ahead of Saturday’s fight.

“They can create any Avengers team they need,” Foster said. “When I do the same to him, it will make me look even better.”

The WBC champion suggested Stevenson and his team prepare Ford for this fight because they understand the danger he poses stylistically.

“I saw the interview with Shakur,” Foster said. “He said me and Keyshawn, if we spar, no one can beat us because we’re the best in the world. If I were Ray Ford, I’d be pissed. That tells me they’re giving the belt to the little guy over there.”

Foster made it clear that he expects a dominant performance on Saturday against Ford and believes Stevenson will have no choice but to continue fighting him later.

“He’s definitely going to have to answer after the fight,” Foster said.

Broadcasts of the main event of Foster vs. Ford live on DAZN from the Toyota Center in Houston.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will attempt to reclaim one of his former super middleweight world titles when he returns to fighting in September, but his path to all four belts is fraught with challenges.

Canelo, a two-time undisputed champion, is one of the best super middleweights of all time and has made it clear his goal is to return to the top of the division after defeating Terence Crawford last year.

Since Crawford’s retirement, all four major belts have either been captured or handed to up-to-date champions, and Canelo is set to embark on his mission to reclaim them, starting with Christian Mbilla’s WBC title on Saturday, September 12.

If he wins, unification options with both WBO’s Hamzah Sheeraz and IBF’s Osleys Iglesias will be options, while the Mexican has ruled out a rematch with WBA champion Jaime Munguia, with whom he now trains. There are no such obstacles in the case of Sheeraz or Iglesias, but the latter still believes that the fight will not happen.

said Iglesias, who is Mbilli’s stablemate in the promotion Ring magazine that Canelo will not dare to face him in the long run.

“It’s complicated. It’s complicated with Canelo. Canelo wouldn’t want to fight me. I hope he gave me this fight and allowed me to show that Cuban fighters, and more specifically Osleys Iglesias, are a different breed.”

“We leave it to God and he will give me a chance to fight him.”

Iglesias – who has 14 knockouts out of 15 wins – defeated Pavel Silyagin last month to win the vacant IBF belt. It’s unclear when the Cuban southpaw will make his first defense.

At this week’s 41st annual IBF convention in Vietnam, Diego Pacheco and Troy Williamson were invited to negotiate terms for a final eliminator who would be granted mandatory challenger status, but Williamson’s agreement for a rematch with Callum Simpson continues to restrict him. Pacheco is understood to have previously rejected a fight with Iglesias, meaning the proposed fight is unlikely and the champion will instead defend himself voluntarily.

Ryan Garcia says today’s welterweight division is finally attracting the massive names boxing fans have wanted to see for years, and he believes champions now have a responsibility to fight the best, not protect positions.

Garcia, who recently won the WBC welterweight title, said the sport frustrated him early in his career because elite fighters often avoided each other in their prime years. Ryan said one of the reasons he agreed to fight Gervonta Davis was because he wanted to see more top fighters facing each other rather than avoid risky fights.

“At the time, no one was fighting each other,” Ryan told Elaborate News, discussing his decision to accept the Davis fight under complex contract terms.

“I think that we, I, as champion, have a responsibility to support boxing in the most respectable way possible without putting myself in bad trouble. But I am the type of person that I will fight anyone, especially when all conditions are equal and fair. I will fight anyone.”

Ryan also rejected the notion that he avoids tough opponents, pointing to fighters he has faced throughout his career.

“I have never been afraid of a top-class fight in my life. Throughout my life, since my amateur days, I have fought everyone. I have fought in the most complex categories,” Garcia said.

Ryan then pointed to the current state of the welterweight division, arguing that 147 pounds has become in the spotlight because so many fighters are currently pursuing major fights there.

“Now you see 147, everyone wants to come here now,” Ryan said.

Garcia is currently expected to return on September 12 in Las Vegas, although he recently cautioned that details regarding a potential fight with Conor Benn are still not fully finalized.

Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, respected for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fighting landscape. His reports focus on the most crucial fights, division development and the most discussed stories in sports.

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Last updated: 27/05/2026 at 23:48