O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) says he’s going to throw more punches in his rematch with WBC super featherweight champion Robson Conceição (19-2-1, 9 KOs) on November 2nd at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. It will be difficult for Foster to resist his usual step back style that he’s used his entire pro career.
Foster, 31, lost his WBC title to the 2016 Olympic gold medalist earlier this year on July 6th in Newark, Jersey. In that fight, Foster didn’t throw enough punches, fighting defensively with his Shakur-esque style and getting thoroughly out-hustled by the Brazilian go-getter Conceicao.
Interestingly, Foster felt he’d done enough to deserve the victory, and he still feels that way three months later. That’s troubling because it was obvious from watching the fight that he got outworked in the round of the fight by Conceicao and deserved to lose by an even wider margin.
The scores
116-112 – Conceicao
115-113 – Conceicao
116-112 – Foster
Foster had fought in the same way in his previous fight against Abraham Nova on February 16th at Madison Square Garden in New York, getting out-worked by him as well. The judges, however, gave Foster a 12-round split decision, but a lot of fans felt that Nova should have been given the decision win. I watched the fight live, and I had it for Nova 117-111.
Foster’s style of fighting, which is a poor man’s copy of Shakur Stevenson, is too defensive, and he doesn’t engage enough to win rounds conclusively. He fights in brief spurts and then retreats and looks to make his opponents miss the way Shakur does.
Having those two share the same card on July 6th at the Prudential Center was pure poison because the fans got two of the exact same fighters in the co-feature and the main event. It’s no wonder that they began piling out of the venue during the Shakur fight because they’d been bored.
Top Rank made a mistake by putting Shakur and Foster on the same card. They can’t afford to keep doing that because it’s a witch’s brew for the fans.
“The fight was easy. I didn’t see where the judges got that decision. I only saw that I could have been more active and let my hands go in certain situations more,” said Foster about his loss to Robson Conceição earlier this year on July 6th in Newark, New Jersey.
“There are a lot of things I can do in that ring. I feel like I could have just put more combinations,” said O’Shaquie. “I could have done a little bit more. I’m looking to let my hands go more. If you watch his fights, he fights the same way every time. He doesn’t switch it up too much.”
Foster is too set in his ways for him to change. That Shakur pull-back style that Foster has is too well-ingrained in him without breaking him as a fighter if he tries to fight with aggression, and I don’t think he can physically change.
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