Bobby Benton: O’Shaquie Foster brings the best out of his opponents

Bobby Benton, trainer of WBC junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster, believes that his fighter consistently brings out the best in his opponents.

Foster will defend his title for the third time against Robson Conceicao on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson-Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Benton underplayed his role in rejuvenating Foster’s career and in guiding him to championship level, and therefore establishing him as a prominent figure at 130 pounds. He also has considerable respect for the achievements of Conceicao, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist from Brazil.

“Good fighter, dangerous fight,” Benton said to BoxingScene. “He’s relentless in some ways, but he’s tricky, too. He’s not scared. He’ll throw from kind of weird spots. It’s a good fight, I always look at these guys as they’re always going to be their best performance against ‘Shock.’

“Guys get up for it. They are fighting for the world title, and maybe they feel like Shock’s the weakest link,” Benton said. “But they definitely get up for him.”

Benton recognized that Conceicao has faced tough competition and recorded some defeats that were contentious. He highlighted Conceicao’s endurance and potential to be dangerous, but stressed the importance of seasoning at this stage of the 30-year-old Foster’s career.

“He can go all day,” Benton said. “His losses are to all world champions, and one of those is controversial. He’s dangerous. He’s a dangerous guy, but that’s where we’re at, and at this point in our career, it’s just the way it is. We gotta be ready for everything.”

Reflecting on his fighter’s recent performances, Benton also discussed the challenges Foster faced in February against Abraham Nova – a nagging injury included. Despite those hurdles, Benton remains confident in Foster’s abilities and readiness for Conceicao.

“He just didn’t do everything he could have done,” Benton said. “The third round, he got elbowed in the bicep and his thumb [was hurt], and it was a lot going on for him to fight through that. He also had the foot injury before the fight.”