O’Shaquie Foster defeated two-division world champion Rey Vargas by unanimous decision to win the World Boxing Council 130-pound belt at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Foster, 29, starred in the main event of the night presented by “Showtime Championship Boxing” and took victory with a wide margin on the scorecards of: Tim Cheatham (117-111), Alejandro Rochin (119-109) and David Sutherland (116-112).
Vargas of Mexico (36-1, 22 KOs), was coming off winning the WBC featherweight title by defeating Filipino Mark Magsayo by split decision; he moved up from 126 pounds to 130 with the firm intention of making history.
Foster (20-2, 11 KOs), of Orange, Texas, came into the fight as the #1 WBC ranked super featherweight. O’Shaquie was coming from winning 10 fights in a row since he lost a split decision to Rolando Chinea in July 2016.
Foster who can adapt to be a switch hitter, this time fought with an orthodox guard, despite much speculation about the possibility that he would fight with a southpaw guard. Foster’s sound defense also prevented Vargas from consistently landing power shots, despite his greater height and reach.
The first two rounds were studious. In the third round, the Mexican suffered a small cut above his left eye from an accidental clash of heads. As the rounds went by, Foster became more comfortable using his speed with straight punches to the face of the Mexican, who couldn’t land his best shots. Vargas` face was swelling.
Foster continued, constantly moving and landing the best shots. By the second half of the fight, his superiority was already evident and at times Vargas looked frustrated.
Closing out in impressive form in round 12 Foster and Vargas threw harder punches, but Foster’s right hand was the most impressive in that round.
“Man, it feels great, man,” Foster told Showtime’s Brian Campbell in the ring. “This journey has been crazy… Man, dedication and hard work. I’ve got a great team around me, man, and, you know, just getting away from the distractions, getting mentally and physically good, you know, and now, you know, I’m on top. It’s crazy.
“I didn’t think the fight was close, but like I said, my trainers kept pushing me to, you know, not let up on the gas and, you know, not shut it down,” Foster said. “So, I wanted to close the show.”
Vargas said. “I thought it was a much closer fight, but that’s the call, the judges´ call.”
So, O’Shaquie Foster has become the new super featherweight world champion of the World Boxing Council.
Photos by Priemer Boxing Champions
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