O’Shaquie Foster has vacated his WBC interim 135-lb title to chase a three-belt unification fight at 130.
Why 130 Makes More Sense
WBC super featherweight champion Foster wants to fight the winner of the unification fight between WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete and IBF champion Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez in a unification match.
Dan Rafael reported the news about Foster (24-3, 12 KOs) choosing to vacate his WBC interim 135-lb title today. It’s a smart move on his part because there were no opportunities for him at lightweight.
WBC champion Shakur Stevenson is chasing paydays at 140 and likely 147 after that. He’s not mentioned wanting to return to 135. With O’Shaquie being there, waiting on him, that’s even less of a reason why Stevenson would return. He talks big about wanting to fight the best, but he’s very, very calculated in who he does face.
It’s not even close to being the best. Fighting Foster would have forced Shakur to back up his talk, and he showed no interest in proving himself. Foster made the right decision to return to 130, where he still holds the WBC title.
Herrera–Nunez Interim Plan
Jadier Herrera vs. Ricardo Nunez fight is now expected to have the WBC interim lightweight title at stake when the bout is rescheduled.
Foster defeated Stephen Fulton by a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night on December 6th at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The victory made Foster the WBC mandatory to champion Shakur Stevenson.
However, almost immediately, Stevenson made it clear that he didn’t want to fight him, saying initially that he had already made a mandatory defense against William Zepeda on July 12th earlier this year. Later, Shakur threatened to vacate the WBC title. That confirmed that Foster wasn’t going to be given a shot at fighting him.
It was an eye-opener to see Stevenson only duck Foster, but he’s not willing to take chances with his career now unless he’s being paid a lot of money.
