O’Shaquie Foster vs Abraham Nova squared off in the main event live from The Theater at MSG in New York on Friday, February 16. The contest featured the WBC junior lightweight champion of Orange, Texas defending his title against Puerto Rico’s contender.
The scheduled for 12 rounds world championship bout went the full distance. Foster came out with the win by split decision, scoring a knockdown in the final round. The scores were 115-112, 113-114 and 116-111.
With the victory, Houston-based O’Shaquie Foster made the second successful defense of his belt. The 30-year-old native of Orange, Texas improved to 22-2, 12 KOs.
Post-fight Foster said he didn’t have any excuses, but mentioned that his rhythm was off and the weight cut was “big” on him. He also said he was happy to walk away with the victory. In his next fight, Foster said he would face the winner of Oscar Valdez vs Liam Wilson.
“I don’t want to make any excuses, but when I went to throw a right hand his elbow hit the middle of my bicep, so it kind of tightened my stuff up,” Foster said. “But it’s all good. My rhythm was off tonight. It’s all good. We came home with the win, so I can’t complain.
“I’m a 12-round fighter and I know how to make judgements through the fight. So, he came on strong in the beginning, but I found my rhythm and his timing, and then I started picking it off.
“The weight cut was definitely big on me. It was cool,” Foster said. “But next fight I’ll do it better. I’ll probably hire a nutritionist or something, and if it end up being too heavy then we’ll move up. Either way, I’m going to come back better than ever though.”
“Emanuel [Navarrete] is busy. I’ll take on Lamont Roach Jr. or the winner of Oscar Valdez vs. Liam Wilson.”
‘It wasn’t a hurt punch’
Abraham Nova didn’t succeed in his first attempt to become champion. Albany, New York-based 30-year-old dropped to 23-2, 16 KOs, which snapped his two-fight winning streak.
“He did hit me, but, no excuses, I did slip,” Nova said. “I lost balance with my foot. It wasn’t a hurt punch. The fight would have been a draw if that never happen.”
“This is boxing. I know they probably think I wasn’t that good. But you guys see I’m a great fighter.
“Hopefully you guys can see me here again. I’m a world class contender. O’Shaquie, we can run it back. Let’s do it again. If not, I can fight Navarrete or anybody.”
Get Foster vs Nova full fight card results.