O’Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) defeated WBC super featherweight champion Robson Conceicao (19-3-1, 9 KOs) by a 12-round split decision in their rematch to recapture his old belt on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
The scores
115-113 Foster
115-113 Conceicao
115-113 Foster
Boxing News 24 scored it for Conceicao 115-113.
Like the first fight, it was nearly impossible to tell who was winning the rounds. Conceicao was the pushing the action, landing much of the shots going forward. Foster was frequently trapped against the ropes by Conceicao and worked hard to the body. That was the difference in the fight for me.
The two judges that gave it to Foster were likely impressed with his single shots, and his defensive skills. At times, he looked like a copy of Shakur Stevenson with the way he was retreating.
Undercard Results
– Unbeaten highly ranked lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) knocked out Jesus Perez (25-6, 18 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled ten-round fight. Muratalla dropped Perez twice with right hands in round two. After the second knockdown, Muratalla landed several shots against the shaky-looking Perez, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight. The time was 1:24.
“I’m coming for these champions. I proved that I’m ready or any of those champions. I want a world champion, but they’re not giving it to me,” said Muratalla after the fight. “You guys saw tonight what I’m capable of doing. I’m waiting for a call from any of the champions.
– Light welterweight Bryce Mills (17-1, 6 KOs) defeated Mike Ohan (19-4, 9 KOs) by a fifth-round stoppage. The contest was halted after the fifth round. Ohan, 30, had been dominated and was not competitive.
– Super featherweight Abraham ‘Super’ Nova (23-3-1, 16 KOs) and Humberto Galindo (14-3-3, 11 KOs) fought to a 10-round draw. The scores were 97-93 for Gaindo, 96-94 for Nova and 95-95. Galindo hurt Nova with a right hand in round one. The remaining rounds were close, making it difficult to determine who won them.
Galindo, 24, was constantly pressuring, but Nova was landing most of the shots with his jabs. In the ninth and tenth, Nova finally started sitting down on his punches, and clearly got the better of Galindo. However, in the other rounds, Galindo landed the harder shots, but there weren’t many of them.
– Middleweight Jahi Tucker (13-1-1, 6 KO) got a questionable eighth-round technical knockout win over Quilisto Madera (14-6, 9 KOs). Tucker, 21, hurt Madera with a slapping right hand to the head that staggered him, forcing him to hold to keep from falling down. Madera fell against the ropes after the referee pulled them apart.
The referee, Charlie Fitch, then took a quick look at Madera’s condition, which wasn’t good, and waved it off. It looked like Madera, 32, could have continued, but Fitch wasn’t taking any chances. The time of the stoppage was at 1:52 of the round.
Tucker was docked a point in the eighth round for retaliating with several punches after being hit with a rabbit shot by Madera. The referee repeatedly tried to get Tucker to stop throwing shots, but he wasn’t listening.
In the sixth round, Madera landed some big shots to the head of Tucker, who looked in bad shape. Tucker had been throwing slapping shots, which were no match for the heavier ones that Madera was hitting him.
– Heavyweight prospect Ali Feliz (4-0, 3 KOs) destroyed an overmatched Rashad Coulter (5-5) by a second-round knockout. Feliz hurt the 42-year-old Coulter with a right hand to the back of the head in round two, causing him to backpedal against the ropes.
At that point, Feliz flurried on Coulter’s defensiveness with arm punches to get the referee’s stoppage. Coulter never attempted to hold to interrupt the barrage or throw anything back, which left the referee with no choice but to halt the contest. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:34.
Feliz had Coulter hurt in round one when he nailed him with a right hook, but he couldn’t finish the job. In the final seconds of the round, Feliz unloaded a storm of shots against Coulter when he was pinned to the ropes. During the barrage, Feliz showboated to let the crown know how easy the fight was for him.
Given the low level of Feliz’s opponent, it was off-putting to watch him clown the guy. If this were an elite-level heavyweight, that’s one thing, but to be taunting a 42-year-old was a look on Feliz’s part.
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In the co-feature, unbeaten lightweight Raymond Muratalla will face Jesus Perez in a 10-round contest. Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) needs a strong showing after his lackluster performance against Tevin Farmer on July 13th.
Main card
Robson Conceicao vs. O’Shaquie Foster
Raymond Muratalla vs. Jesus Perez
Foster needs a much stronger offensive showing if he’s to win tonight against the 2016 Olympic gold medalist Conceicao.
The fight is in New York, and fans expect to be entertained. Foster’s style is a 100% copy of Shakur Stevenson’s, with the three-step pullback move that he uses. That approach doesn’t work with fans and the judges.
Indeed, Foster was booed loudly by the fans in his fight against Conceicao last July at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The East Coast fans don’t enjoy watching fighters that use Foster’s hit-and-don’t-get-hit style. He says he will be more aggressive in this fight, but we’ll see tonight.
Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) was given a quick rematch due to the fan complaints over Conceicao’s questionable 12-round split decision defeat (19-2-1, 9 KOs) on July 13th. It was a fight where Foster focused on defense and was outworked by Conceicao.
Tonight’s event starts at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+.
Robson Conceicao makes his maiden defense of his WBC super featherweight title against the still salty former champion O’Shaquie Foster tonight in a rematch scheduled for 12 rounds in a Top Rank-promoted event in Verona, New York.
