American WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster resumed his winning form against countryman Abraham Nova by emerging victorious through a split-decision after a total of twelve rounds. The two fighters headlined a Top Rank-promoted card at the Madison Square Garden (Theater), New York, on February 16th as they engaged in an exciting title fight that turned out to be a close bout for both.
O’Shaquie Foster (22-2, 12 KO’s) looked in better form last Friday as opposed to his previous match as despite fighting a tough and skilled contender in Abraham Nova (23-2, 16 KO’s), Foster appeared to have shown an improvement in many aspects; particularly ring dominance and patience.
Competing in what was his third world title fight, Foster’s style of boxing―which puts an emphasis on fighting on the backfoot―worked well against Nova who prefers pressuring his opponent while remaining defensively responsible.
Nova was effective coming forward, finding the most success when he was able to unleash a flurry of combinations up close, but Foster’s defensive fundamentals helped him weather whatever storm came to his way. While Nova did hit cleanly on more than a couple of occasions, Foster used his full his disposal of skills to edge most of the rounds; at times keeping Nova at bay with his jab, other times racking up his activity in the ring to showcase his better conditioning.
Both fighters proved to be tough on the night, but it was Foster who more prominently made the difference. With his varied attacks, mostly-solid defense―including head movement―and greater activity, Foster always seemed one step ahead and his success during the bout culminated in him dropping Nova with a left hook amidst an exchange in the last and twelfth round.
Though the knockdown was but a flash knockdown and far from damaging, it did virtually seal the match for O’Shaquie Foster who was announced the winner by split-decision with scorecards of 115-112, 113-114 and 116-111. He also successfully retained his WBC super featherweight/junior lightweight title for the second time of his career.
As neither fighter came through the match unscathed, both fighters have been suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) with O’Shaquie Foster set to be on the sidelines indefinitely after two grueling fights in the span of just four months, while Abraham Nova’s medical suspension will last until the 23rd of February.
With his victory, O’Shaquie Foster has once more proven himself a worthy champion at 130 lbs, but there still remain three other champions in the division vying to be considered the best. Though Foster’s free agent status has allowed him the flexibility to fight under different promotional outfits, it is yet unknown whether he can transcend his current position of fighting contenders and move on towards unification fights where he can fully test his ability.
The rest of the Top Rank fight card featured the continued rise of American featherweight prospect and recent Ring Magazine ‘prospect of the year’ winner Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (11-0, 7 KO’s) who maintained his unbeaten record by knocking out Norwegian contender Bernard Angelo Torres (18-2, 8 KO’s) in the fourth round of their 10-round bout. As Carrington moves into the contender position, he edges closer to a world title fight though he is still a test or two away from outright clamoring for a belt. However, the American fighter seems to be edging closer towards becoming a legitimate contender in the 126 lbs division.
At super featherweight, rising American contender Andres Cortes (21-0, 12 KO’s) appears to be much closer towards landing a world title fight following his fourth-round stoppage win over proven Puerto Rican 130 lbs contender Bryan Chevalier (20-2-1, 16 KO’s). A fight with O’Shaquie Foster himself could be on the cards following both fighters competing on the same card, and Cortes appears to have emerged as a genuine challenger for any and all of the champions currently in the division.
