With Joe Cordina’s recent loss, junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster now believes there is a path for him to become undisputed champion.
Foster is set to make his third title defense against Robson Conceicao on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
The 30-year-old Foster (22-2, 12 KOs), of Orange, Texas, was a free agent after defending his title against Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez. Yet it was Top Rank, not Matchroom Boxing – the promoter of his fight against Hernandez – that signed him. Foster felt it was no coincidence, given the issues he had trying to make a fight with then-IBF titleholder Joe Cordina, who is also promoted by Matchroom. But since Cordina’s stoppage loss to Anthony Cacace, Foster finally sees an opening that would allow him to collect all the division’s belts.
“When Cordina had the belt, I didn’t see it being a thing, because, like I said, I was a free agent, and they had opportunities,” Foster told BoxingScene. “The first thing they did was say I overpriced myself. Literally, we never even talked about a price with dude. So I was like, forget the undisputed title because he is going to hide the belt. Now that the other dude got it, I think it’s the route for me, you know? I can get [WBO interim titleholder Oscar] Valdez and I can get Cacace, then Lamont Roach.”
Foster, who is undefeated since 2016, has his eyes set on redeeming himself after his Top Rank debut in February, of which he was critical. Foster won a split decision over Abraham Nova in a fight that was more competitive than some expected. Foster blamed an injury leading up to the bout, saying he had “basically torn his plantar fasciitis,” and wants to rectify the performance. Now, with his eyes set on unifying the belts, Foster doesn’t think a Cordina fight will happen in the future.
“Probably not – I wish,” Foster said. “Honestly, that’s a name that I just want to fight, I don’t even care if he has a title anymore. I still want to just beat him up, but I don’t see it happening. I don’t think he really wants the fight because everything was, ‘Oh, he’s not a big enough name.’ Then, he goes and fights Edward Vasquez. ‘Oh, he’s not a big enough name.’ Then he goes and fights Anthony Cacace. Like, bro, what are you talking about? I’m the champion. I mean, we really never heard people say this about other champions in their division unless they’re running scared.”
Foster’s next opponent, Conceicao (18-2-1, 9 KOs), 35, will be fighting in his fourth world title bout, with controversy following his previous three. The 2016 Olympic gold medalist lost a close split decision to Valdez in 2021 (which many pundits scored for Conceicao); lost a unanimous decision in 2022 to Shakur Stevenson, who lost his unified titles on the scale, vacating the WBC and WBO titles in the process; and gave a spirited effort against Emanuel Navarrete last November, getting off the canvas twice to fight the champion to a draw. All of Conceicao’s losses have come in world title fights.
In Foster’s mind, the Conceicao fight isn’t just a title defense but the first of his future unification bouts.
“I think he’s a great fighter,” Foster said of Conceicao. “I have wanted to share the ring with him for a while just because he has been in the ring with the other champions. I think he’s gonna be a great opponent and separate myself from certain guys that already faced him. He just had a draw with Navarrete. I’m looking at this fight as a unification fight. I’m not taking him lightly at all.”
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