O’Shaquie Foster (left) vs. Abraham Nova. Photo Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is sceptical about the idea of Canelo Alvarez defending his undisputed super middleweight title against Chris Eubank Jr. in September.
Hearn’s Case for Berlanga
Hearn doesn’t like the fight for Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and wants him to fight WBA 168-pound mandatory Edgar Berlanga, whom he promotes. He believes a fight between Canelo and Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) would sell well in the U.S. because of the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry.
Hearn fails to see the problem that Berlanga has fought only lower-level opponents throughout his career and is unknown outside of the die-hard fan community.
Many die-hard fans believe Berlanga is just an advertisement with no real substance, and Hearn’s careful selection of fighters for the Recent Yorker has not helped since signing him.
If Canelo fought Berlanga, he would be criticized in the States all the time and it wouldn’t be worth fighting him because it would never end. Hearn isn’t aware of that because he lives in the UK, but that’s the chilly, brutal reality.
When Hearn signed Berlanga, he should have paired him with these fighters to boost his popularity in the US:
Instead of putting Berlanga in the fight with those fighters, Hearn gave him two effortless fights against British fighters Padraig McCrory and Jason Quigley, which did nothing to improve his popularity in the U.S.
Wrong assessment
“I don’t think it would be in the UK. It would be in the US, but I don’t know,” Eddie Hearn told Charlie Parsons Youtube channel, reacting to reports of a potential Canelo Alvarez vs. Chris Eubank Jr. fight in September.
“No, not really,” Hearn said when asked if he thought Canelo vs. Eubank Jr. would be a “substantial” fight in the U.S. “Eubank got stopped by Liam Smith. He came back. For me, Conor Benn, welterweight, vs. Chris Eubank Jr. is a 50-50 fight.”
Canelo needs an opponent to toasty up to for his next fight in September to prepare for his fight with Terence Crawford in early 2025. While Hearn thinks Berlanga is a great idea, he fights nothing like Crawford and looks like a airy heavyweight after rehydrating for his 168 fights.
The fight with Berlanga would be preparation for the fight with David Benavidez, but even in this case he would be a feeble opponent because he is average.
“Chris Eubank Jr. against 168-pound Canelo Alvarez is not. So I think I understand that, but no. I prefer Edgar Berlanga. He is [WBA 168-lb] mandatory challenger. He’s a substantial, robust 168-pounder who can really pack a punch Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. It’s a substantial fight that puts in substantial numbers,” Hearn said.
Canelo-Berlanga wouldn’t do much in the US, as Berlanga is known on the East Coast in Recent York, and even there he’s popular in parts, not the entire state. That’s not enough to make a fight between them a huge deal.
“Only with a hat,” Hearn said when asked where he was with Edgar Berlanga. “You’ve got [Jermall] Charlo. You’ve got Berlanga. You’ve got Eubank, if I understand correctly, so we’ll see. No, not really. He’s been inactive and not competitive. What’s the point?” Hearn said when asked if Jermall would be a good fight for Canelo.
A better path for Berlanga
Hearn should match Berlanga with David Morrell to improve his popularity. If Berlanga gets wiped out by Morrell, Hearn should end his contract with the Recent Yorker, return to match him with the low-level fighters he paired him with, and wash his hands of his experiment.
“Ultimately he’ll make a decision and it’ll be a decision based on money and who he wants to fight. I think he would enjoy the fight with Edgar Berlanga because Edgar Berlanga would get in front of him, trade with him and make it stimulating. So yeah, that would be the right choice,” Hearn said of who Canelo should fight in September.
Whoever Canelo fights in September will be criticized, unless he faces someone tough like Morrell or airy heavyweight David Benavidez. If he fights Benavidez, someone will have to meet his $200 million asking price, and he will have to strictly limit his hydration to 10 pounds.
O’SHAQUIE Foster steps into the ring at the Prudential Center tomorrow night to defend his WBC super featherweight title against Robson Conceição. The fight with the former Olympic gold medalist will be the co-main event to Shakur Stevenson’s fight with Artem Harutyunyan.
While a fighter like Stevenson (actually a three-division world champion) might take these opportunities for granted, it’s taken a long time for a fighter like Foster to earn such a high profile and now be considered for immediate unification fights with contenders at 130 pounds.
“I just have to go in there and be myself. That’s the most critical thing. I’m fully hearty. So everyone will see a different player than the one they saw last time I went out,” the 30-year-old Texan said.
Foster is preparing for a stronger performance, clearly still disappointed with his performance in February when he defeated top contender Abraham Nova on points (below).
“I couldn’t do what I wanted to do in that fight with Abraham Nova. I couldn’t move my legs the way I wanted to. But there are no excuses. I’m going to go out and show the world that I’m a level above that guy,” he told “Ice Water” before discussing Conceição’s next opponent.
“I had a long amateur career, so I’ve seen his style a few times. We had great sparring partners who emulated him. I’ve always prided myself on my defense, so we’ll figure that out when we get in there.”
Though he’s always had talent, Foster has had to overcome personal demons and get his life in order both in and out of the ring. Before O’Shaquie hit the gigantic time, he fought hard-hitting Spaniard Jon Fernandez in Oklahoma in 2018. Foster won that night by a score of 98-92. Is Fernandez surprised by what his slayer has accomplished, or did he always see that kind of potential bubbling away before it surfaced?
“When I fought O’Shaquie Foster, he wasn’t as well-known as he is now. But as soon as the fight was over, I knew he was a very, very good operator and that he would fight for world honours and become world champion,” explained Fernandez, who will next fight Dalton Smith for the European title.
“And also O’Shaquie Foster himself told me after the fight that he had problems with the team before, so he had a fresh team and that he was making progress and would start improving his game. And that’s obvious what happened.”
As quickly as Foster has turned his career around, his opponent tomorrow night, Robson Conceição, simply can’t catch a professional break. World title defeats to star Stevenson, as well as a previous controversy with Oscar Valdez, have stung.
Robson, who refuses to give up and drew a boxing fight with Emanuel Navarreta in overdue 2023, believes all good things come to those who wait and O’Shaquie Foster, who had to stage a overdue fight to take the WBC world title from Eduardo Hernandez in 2023, will be out of luck this time.
“Things in my career haven’t necessarily been effortless. As an amateur, I had three opportunities to become a gold medalist. I see a similar path as a professional. And on Saturday, I’ll be ready,” Conceição said.
“I don’t see these challenges as pressure. I see them as motivation. So I’m motivated and I’m looking forward to this fight on Saturday. I’m going to be the fresh world champion. No pressure. Just motivation.”
Ryan Garcia has become too demanding for even one of his biggest supporters.
The now-suspended boxer is no longer allowed to compete in any WBC-sanctioned events, both boxing and non-boxing. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman took a firm stance following Garcia’s recent online meltdown, which included racist and Islamophobic remarks directed at African-Americans and Muslims.
“Using my authority as president of the WBC, I hereby bar Ryan Garcia from any activity within our organization,” Sulaiman said Thursday via social media. “We reject any form of discrimination.
“I’m afraid of [Ryan’s] well-being, as he has repeatedly rejected our attempts to get lend a hand for his mental health and substance abuse issues.”
The reaction came hours after Garcia (24-1, 20 knockouts, 1 win) spent much of the July 4 holiday spewing hate.
“I hate n***as, I’m anti-black, I’m KKK,” Garcia insisted during a live performance at X Space. “Yo, let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and kill that n***a again.”
George Floyd was an African American man murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. The incident sparked riots that began locally and spread across the United States. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter.
The hosted space was where, as Garcia stated in X’s now-deleted post, “Fuck all the niggas and all the muslims.”
Garcia can no longer fight anywhere in the U.S. until next April.
The 25-year-old Victorville, California native tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during his April 20 fight with Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 NC) in Brooklyn, Fresh York. Garcia earned a majority decision victory that night, although it was marred by the fact that he was significantly over the 140-pound weight limit. It was changed to a No-Contest following a decision in June.
Golden Boy Promotions, Garcia’s promoter, has yet to comment on the matter. The topic will undoubtedly come up during the events of William Zepeda and Giovanni Cabrera’s fight week. The weigh-ins will take place on the Friday before Saturday’s fight night on DAZN at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Ryan’s parents addressed the matter immediately following Sulaiman’s statement.
“Our son has recently made statements that are not true to his character or the beliefs of our family,” Henry and Lisa Garcia said in a joint statement released by WBC. “Our family unequivocally does not support any of his statements regarding race or religion—they do not reflect who Ryan is or how he was raised.
“Those who know Ryan can attest to this fact. Ryan has been open about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years and as a family we are committed to ensuring and supporting him to receive the lend a hand he needs to navigate this very tough time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being. We appreciate your continued support, prayers and compassion.”
Ryan downplayed the gesture, claiming he had already stopped drinking.
Garcia can no longer fight anywhere in the U.S. until next April.
The 25-year-old Victorville, California native tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine during his April 20 fight with Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 ND) in Brooklyn, Fresh York. Garcia was declared the winner by a majority decision that night, although it meant he fell far brief of the 140-pound weight limit.
At this point, Garcia began exhibiting disturbing behavior, raising concerns about whether the DAZN Pay-Per-View event would go ahead.
Things got much worse after multiple positive drug test results were revealed, at which point Garcia sank even deeper. He has since fired his longtime aide, Guadalupe “Lupe” Valencia. Garcia called the high-profile attorney “Al Haymon’s puppet” during interview with FightHype.com.
In early June, a settlement was reached with the Fresh York State Athletic Commission after Garcia unsuccessfully argued that contamination was the cause of the Ostarine in his system. In fact, his efforts to prove it only raised more questions about whether the opened containers of supplements had been tampered with before being sent to the lab. Under the agreement, Garcia was suspended for a year from his April 20 fight, fined $10,000 and forced to forfeit his contracted purse of $1.1 million.
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