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O’Shaquie Foster Shocks Rey Vargas To Win Vacant WBC Super
Featherweight World Title
Photos: Amanda Westcott - SHOWTIME
With the words “ice water” and “shock the world” etched on
his trunks, O’Shaquie Foster produced the fight of his life,
coolly and methodically out-boxing two-division world
champion Rey Vargas to capture the vacant WBC Super
Featherweight World Championship in his first title shot
live on SHOWTIME Saturday, February 11 from the Alamodome in
San Antonio, Texas in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
Foster, who normally switches to southpaw in his fights,
fought orthodox for the entire 12 rounds with the objective
of befuddling Vargas, as he won by scores of 116-112,
117-111 and 119-109 in a dominant, albeit very competitive
win.
“I can’t put it into words (what this means),” Foster said
in the ring afterward. “I know my mom, my uncle, my grandpa,
they are all looking down on me.”
Foster, a veteran of four SHOBOX: The New Generation bouts®,
has overcome countless hardships in his life, including the
death of his mother to cancer when he was 12. He lost a
decision in just his ninth fight on SHOBOX and dropped a
split decision three fights later. But Foster fought
confidently and relentlessly on Saturday, as if he was the
undefeated fighter entering the fight, peppering Vargas with
jabs and out-working him in the later rounds. With the win,
Foster became the 88th SHOBOX alum to win a world title.
According to CompuBox, Foster threw 101 more punches than
Vargas and landed 43 more shots (22 more jabs and 21 more
power punches). In the championship rounds, with Foster’s
trainer Bobby Benton asking him to close the show, Foster
out-landed Vargas 32-10 to secure victory.
“It feels great,” Foster went on. “Dedication, hard work. I
have a great team around me. Getting away from the
distractions and preparing myself mentally and physically.
My preparation was very important. I saw a lot of tape. I
threw combinations. I knew that he counter reacted to
previous opponents. I tried to switch up my technique.
“My coaches kept telling me to pick it up, we are ready to
go. We can’t get them out, but I felt good in the later
rounds. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a close fight.
I didn’t think it was close. My coaches kept telling me not
to let off the gas. I’d love to unify [the division]. I’ll
face anybody.“
Vargas, who disputed the decision, indicated that he will
drop back down and campaign at 126 pounds, where he still
holds the WBC belt. “We didn’t get the decision at super
featherweight,” Vargas said, “but we are still champions at
126.“
Foster, who has fought at 130 pounds or heavier for most of
his career, stunned Vargas with a left a minute into the
11th, as swelling under Vargas’ eyes was evident. Vargas
landed a three-punch combination midway through the ninth as
he began to fight with desperation. But Foster answered with
a short right hand that seemed to buzz Vargas.
Vargas sustained a small cut over his left eye after Foster
landed a snappy right hand and the two clashed heads with a
minute left in the third. Foster caught Vargas with a jab to
the body to start the second that caused Vargas to fall to
the canvas, but the referee ruled it a slip as Foster
stepped on Vargas’ foot during the sequence.
“I respect the judges,” Vargas said in the ring. “I think
this decision was not fair. I don’t agree with it, but I
have to respect it. I thought it was much closer than they
saw. The weight difference may have affected me tonight. In
boxing, you can use your legs to be technical or use them to
run. Foster used them to run. He ran all night.
“There was a headbutt at the beginning of the fight that
affected my sight for a second, but I recovered quickly. I
thank all the fans that came out to support me.”
Vargas fought without a familiar face in his corner as
legendary trainer Nacho Beristain was absent for this
assignment as Vargas’ father Carlos took his place. Vargas
was trying to join other legendary fighters who have won
titles at 122, 126, and 130, such as Manny Pacquiao, Leo
Santa Cruz, and Mexican legends Erik Morales and Marco
Antonio Barrera.
Former champion and San Antonio-native Mario “El Azteca”
Barrios snapped his two-fight losing streak with a razor
sharp, career-rejuvenating performance against Jovanie
Santiago in Saturday’s co-feature. Barrios dropped Santiago
in the eighth round with a left to the body and followed up
with a barrage of punches, causing referee Mark Calo-Oy,
upon the request of Santiago’s corner, to stop the one-sided
fight at 1:42 of the eighth of their welterweight contest
scheduled for 10 rounds. Barrios led 70-63 on all three
judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
After Santiago (14-3-1, 10 KOs) touched the canvas for the
fourth time of his career from the body shot, Barrios, who
is back with top trainer Bob Santos, followed up with a
straight right hand that snapped Santiago’s head back,
causing his corner to step in. After losing his last two
fights to top talents Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman,
Barrios (27-2, 18 KOs) had his way with Santiago, who was
also coming off back-to-back losses to Adrien Broner and
Gary Antuanne Russell.
The CompuBox stats backed up Barrios’ dominance. The
27-year-old landed 90 more punches than the gutsy Santiago,
who out-threw Barrios by a single punch. Barrios landed 39
more jabs, 51 more power punches and looked super-charged
throughout the fight, buoyed from the hometown crowd and his
own desire to get back into the win column.
“It feels amazing,” Barrios said afterward. “It took me a
while to get into that groove, to get that rhythm. I felt
great. I wouldn’t say I was different [tonight], but
definitely with a larger arsenal. I’m pretty thankful to
have Bob [Santos] in my corner and my sister. I had to get
just as physical. That’s another thing we have been working
on in the gym. I knew Santiago was coming with it. And he
took the fight in my backyard. That says a lot about him.
He’s a hell of a warrior, I tip my hat to him.
“I felt myself breaking him down little by little. I just
had to be patient. My counter right hand is something that
we’ve been working on at the gym in Vegas. I feel I’m
definitely up there with the [welterweight] elite. I still
have something to prove. I promised my city a world title,
and I got it in 2019 and I will do it again.”
Trailing on two of the judges’ scorecards, Cuban heavyweight
Lenier Peró stunned Ukraine’s Viktor Faust with a hard right
to the body followed with a left hand that rendered Faust
defenseless and out on his feet in the eighth round. Peró
pounced on Faust and landed several more unanswered punches,
causing referee Rafael Ramos to stop the heavyweight contest
at 2:28 of the eighth round of the scheduled 10-round bout
to hand Faust the first loss of his career as Peró remained
undefeated.
It was a stunning turn of events, as Faust was controlling
the action with his long jab and hard, thudding right hands
until the final moments. Faust, who out-landed his opponent
389-183 in total punches, hurt Peró with a sweeping counter
left to end the third round that stunned Peró, before he was
saved by the bell.
While he was absorbing the heavier shots, Peró remained
committed to Faust’s body, landing 51 body shots throughout
the bout, even as he fought off his back foot and Faust
continuously advanced forward.
It all came to a head in the eighth round when Peró caught
Faust with a right to the body and left to the head that
hurt him so badly he stopped fighting and turned his back on
his opponent.
“After the 6th round, I had pain in my ribs, but I decided
to continue the fight,” said Faust. “The pain increased and
did not allow me to compete to my full potential.
“I understood that during the bout I was winning and
controlling the fight, but after missing a punch in the
eighth round, the pain was so unbearable that I could no
longer move. As a result, I won on points, but the injury
gave the victory to my opponent.”
Peró, who faced current unified heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk and has multiple victories over countryman
Frank Sanchez in the amateurs, finished off Faust to improve
to 9-0 with 5 KOs as Faust dropped to 11-1 with 7 KOs. Faust
has now lost to both Peró brothers as Faust was also
defeated by his younger brother Dainier in the amateurs.
“It was a very difficult fight,” Peró said in the ring
afterward. “He’s a great fighter, so I started to build up
momentum and started to hit him and then we finally came
ahead in the final round. Since the first round, I was
trying to find his liver, trying to go to his body. His
punches weren’t that powerful, so I kept working and then
found that final shot. This is pro boxing, and you can’t
turn your back on anyone. You can’t turn your back, and I
didn’t and I took advantage.
“I’m setting my sights on England, actually. Let’s see if
the Brits would like to come fight Stateside. I would
welcome them with open arms. I’m talking Tyson Fury,
Dubois…bring them on!”
Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will replay
Sunday, February 12 at 9 a.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and Monday,
February 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.
A four-bout SHOWTIME BOXING COUNTDOWN show on the SHOWTIME
Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page
preceded the telecast on Saturday.
In the main event of the streaming show, former titleholder
Claudio Marrero of the Dominican Republic recorded three
knockdowns against Las Vegas’ Gonzalo Fuenzalida, all on
body shots in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, forcing
referee Jon Schorle to stop their lightweight bout at 43
seconds into the fifth round of their scheduled eight-round
bout. Marrero improved to 27-5 with 19 KOs, while Fuenzalida
dropped to 12-2 with 3 KOs.
In other action, unbeaten Filipino Olympic bronze medalist
Eumir Marcial, who is promoted by Manny Paquiao’s
promotional company, dropped veteran Ricardo Villalba twice
in their middleweight bout, causing referee Mark Calo-Oy to
halt the action at 48 seconds of the second round as Marcial
upped his record to 3-0 with 2 KOs, while Villalba fell to
20-8-1 in their scheduled eight-round bout.
The 23-year-old, 6-foot-5 Cuban heavyweight Dainier Peró,
younger brother of unbeaten Lenier Peró, showed off his
punching power and footwork against tough Daniel Zavala in
another streaming bout, punishing Zavala over four rounds
and winning a dominant decision by scores of 40-36, 40-36
and 40-35. Peró moved to 3-0 with 2 KOs, while Zavala of Del
Rio, Texas fell to 2-2-2.
The 17-year-old blue-chip prospect David Whitmire of
Washington, DC opened the streaming show and his pro career
in fashion, dropping Keith Foreman of Harlingen, Texas twice
with left hooks and causing the 154-pound bout to be waived
off at 2:10 of the first round in a successful pro debut for
the teen. Foreman dropped to 0-1, 1 NC.
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