While there are many words and/or levels used to describe controversial decisions in professional boxing — from controversial to downright corrupt — former junior lightweight titleholder O’Shakey Foster can only use one to describe his shocking July loss to Robson Conceicao. .
“I see this as the biggest robbery in years,” Foster said told CBS Sports last week. “However people want to call it, it is what it is. I think it’s just incompetent jurors, honestly, in my eyes.”
According to CompuBox, Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) outscored his opponent, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Conceicao, 109 to 76. But it may have been the performance of Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) that ultimately swayed the two judges as he landed 266 more punches than Foster en route to a split-decision victory (116-112, 112-116). 115-113) which stunned almost everyone present at the Prudential Center in Newark, Jersey.
Foster, 31, will get a second chance to reclaim his WBC title at 130 pounds when he meets Conceicao, 36, in a rematch headlining the top-ranked card at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York, on Saturday.
“I don’t know if it was grief but I was so mad that I (immediately) wanted it back,” Foster said. “I wanted to know why. I’m not going to lie, I was so mad, bro. I was so mad. I think after a few days to a week, I started getting so much love from it that it made me more than ever. started to become more popular and I started to look at it more positively.”
Foster didn’t just find a silver lining after the highly controversial loss, the Houston, Texas product looked teary-eyed as he came to terms with what happened in post-fight interviews. , also believes that the reality of the defeat forced him to take a closer look at his own style so as not to repeat the result.
“I know it pushed me to another level,” Foster said. “It pushed me to a new level. I want to show what I can do. I can fight a style in these fights and I will win these fights. So it’s an, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ type thing now, This has taken me to another level where I am trying to maximize my talents.
“We’re going to be more active. I want to come and put on a show.”
While Foster’s opinion seemed to align with most observers that night, Conceicao still strongly agreed with the judges and believed that Foster’s inaction ultimately cost him.
From Conceicao’s perspective, his victory over Foster becomes even more justified when he remembers his two closest fights to date — a decision loss to Oscar Valdez in 2021 and a majority draw against Emmanuel Navarrete last November — both of which he scored. believe wrongly
“This fight is personal for me because I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run, who looks for the fight, who tries to win and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then walk away,” Conceicao concluded this week. said at the press conference. “It’s happened to me before with Oscar Valdez and Emmanuel Navarre. I didn’t have the luck that night, but I always go in there wanting to fight. So, he has to fight. This is the second time against me.”
The loss for Foster snapped a 12-fight win streak that completely turned his career around after two early defeats at the prospect level. Foster claimed the WBC title over Rey Vargas in February 2023 and made a pair of immediate defenses against Eduardo Hernandez (in an all-action affair) and Abraham Nova to gain steam as one of the world’s top junior lightweight fighters.
Foster said he’s only rewatched the Conceicao fight once and is still willing to give his opponent two out of 12 rounds. But the fact that so many people reached out to him and still considered him a champion fueled Foster’s determination to win the title.
“I think (Consicao) is such a durable, tough fighter that you have to accept his will,” Foster said. “He’s just not going to give it up. That’s the type of guy he is. But I also think you can take it, you just have to bring it to him. I respect him as a fighter. He’s going to fight and maybe try to do something different. But, either way, I’ll be ready for it.
“I just want to prove everybody wrong and get my revenge. The way I feel is I got the short end of the stick a lot and I like to prove people wrong. It’s just my mindset, I’m free and I want to be busy, I Every day and every night when I wake up, I can’t wait.”
In addition to the title fight, there are more matchups in the lower weight classes on Saturday. Raymond Muratalla will take on Jesus Perez at lightweight. The 27-year-old Muratalla is undefeated at 21-0 in his growing career with 16 knockouts to his name. Also, Abraham Nova returns to action when he takes on junior lightweight Humberto Galindo.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the card with the latest odds before making a prediction and expert picks on the main event.
Battle cards, odds
- O’Shakey Foster -420 vs. Robson Conceição (c) +320, WBC Junior Lightweight Title
- Raymond Muratalla -2400 vs. Jesus Perez +1100, Lightweight
- Bryce Mills vs. Mike Waughan Jr., Jr. Welterweight
- Abraham Nova -1800 vs. Humberto Galindo +800, Jr. Lightweight
Viewing information
- Date: 2 November
- Location: Turning Stone Resort Casino — Verona, New York
- Start time: First hour at 5:50 pm ET
- Where to look: ESPN+
Prophecy
It all made for a much more exciting rematch than the first fight, especially considering Foster is focused on not leaving things up to the judges’ imaginations. Foster should increase his offensive output, which he has openly suggested, giving Conceicao more openings to exchange with him at close range.
But if Foster proved one thing in the first fight, it’s that his speed and footwork are a discipline problem for Conceicao. So the rematch will come down to how well Foster can manage the balance between both styles to avoid being too flashy and not relying on his defense while making sure that Conceicao doesn’t stay too long in the zone where he can make him pay.
Conceicao is as smart as he is durable. But there’s no question that Foster is in pieces. This fight is as close as the first in terms of judges scores. Maybe, but Foster has all the tools needed to secure revenge as a nearly 4-to-1 betting favorite.
sort: Feather through UD12
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