O’Shaquie Foster won a thrilling split decision over Abraham Nova to retain his WBC Junior Lightweight Title.

Foster began the first from a southpaw stance against Nova, who used his range to good use, with his jab finding its target in the first two rounds. That caused the champion to switch things up immediately, as he reverted to a southpaw stance in the third.

Nova Starts Well

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The change worked as Foster’s right hook found him success. But that was derailed in the fourth, as Nova landed with numerous right hands to put Foster on the back foot.

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The champion then seemed to have injured his bicep in a major turning point, as his corner used ice and massages between rounds to keep him going.

Foster’s Injury

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Nova grew in confidence as he closed the distance and threw more combinations. Just when victory seemed unlikely, Foster pulled it out of the bag. In the championship rounds, Nova slowed down as Foster hurt his opponent in the 11th and 12th to finish strongly. He dropped Nova with 20 seconds left in the fight with a solid left hook.

Foster Drops Him

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Although Nova protested the knockdown, he was almost dropped again as the final bell went. Foster took the decision on the scorecards as follows: 116-111, 115-112 and 114-113.

Post-Fight Comments

"My rhythm was off tonight. It’s all good. We came home with the win, so I can’t complain. I’m a 12-round fighter and I know how to make judgements through the right. So, he came on strong in the beginning, but I found my rhythm and his timing, and then I started picking it off. I don’t want to make any excuses, but when I went to throw a right hand, his elbow hit the middle of my bicep, so it kind of tightened my stuff up,” Foster said 

“O’Shaquie is a great fighter. He did hit me, but I did slip. I lost my balance. I wasn’t hurt. The fight would have been a draw if that hadn’t happened. This is boxing. I know they probably think I wasn’t that good. But you guys see I’m a great fighter,” Nova

Full Results

O’Shaquie Foster def. Abraham Nova via a split decision: 116-111, 115-112, 113-114 for the WBC super featherweight title

Andres Cortes def. Bryan Chevalier via a fourth-round TKO; Super Featherweight

Bruce Carrington def. Bernard Angelo Torres via a fourth-round TKO; Featherweight

Delante Johnson def. Paulo Cesar Galdino via a first-round TKO; Super Lightweight

Euri Cedeno def. Antonio Todd via a fifth-round TKO 5; Middleweight

Guido Vianello def. Moses Johnson via a first-round TKO; Heavyweight

Arnold Gonzalez def. Charles Stanford via a unanimous decision: 59-55, 59-55, 58-56; Super Welterweight

Ofacio Falcon def. Edward Ceballos via a unanimous decision: 60-54, 60-54, 60-54; Super Featherweight

Isaah Flaherty def. Julien Baptiste via a unanimous decision: 60-54, 60-54, 60-54; Middleweight

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