While there are multiple words and/or tiers used to describe contentious decisions in professional boxing — everything from disputed to outright corrupt — former junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster can only use one to describe his shocking July defeat to Robson Conceicao.
“I see it as one of the biggest robberies in the last few years,” Foster told CBS Sports last week. “However people want to call it, it is what it is. I think it was just incompetent judges, honestly, in my eyes.”
Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) outlanded his opponent, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist Conceicao, by a margin of 109 to 76, according to CompuBox. But it might have been the activity of Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) that ultimately swayed two of the judges as he attempted 266 more punches than Foster en route to a split-decision win (116-112, 112-116, 115-113) that stunned nearly everyone in attendance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
On Saturday, the 31-year-old Foster will get a second chance to regain his WBC title at 130 pounds when he meets Conceicao, 36, in a rematch headlining a Top Rank card at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York.
“I don’t know if it was grief but I was so mad that I wanted to [immediately] get it back,” Foster said. “I wanted to know why. I ain’t going to lie, I was so mad, bro. I was so mad. I think after a couple days to a week, I started getting so much love from it that it actually made me way more popular after than before. It started to turn around and I started to look at it more in a positive way.”
Not only has Foster found a silver lining in the aftermath of the highly disputed defeat by how much goodwill he has received from the boxing world after the post-fight interview saw him in tears trying to cope with what happened, the product of Houston, Texas, also believes the reality of the defeat forced him to take a closer look at his own style to avoid a repeat of the result.
“I know it pushed me to another level,” Foster said. “It pushed me to a new level of wanting to just show everything I can do. I could fight one style in these fights and I will win these fights. So it’s a, ‘if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it’ type thing. Now, it turned me to another level where I can show the world everything. I am trying to maximize my talents.
“We are going to be more active. I’m looking to come in and put on a show.”
While Foster’s opinion of how the first fight went down seems to align with most observers that night, Conceicao still agrees firmly with the judges and believes Foster’s inactivity down the stretch ultimately cost him.
From Conceicao’s standpoint, his victory over Foster becomes more justified when he thinks back to two of his closest fights to date — a 2021 decision loss to Oscar Valdez and a majority draw against Emanuel Navarrete last November — both of which he believes were scored incorrectly.
“This fight is personal for me because I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” Conceicao said at this week’s final press conference. “This has happened to me before, in fact, with Oscar Valdez and Emanuel Navarrete. I didn’t have the luck those nights, but I always go in there with the desire to fight. So, he’s going to have to fight for a second time against me as a result of that.”
The loss for Foster snapped a 12-fight win streak that completely turned his career around after two early defeats on the prospect level. Foster outclassed Rey Vargas in February 2023 to claim the WBC title 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 top junior lightweight fighters in the world.
Foster said he only rewatched the Conceicao fight once and is still only willing to give his opponent two of the 12 rounds. But the fact that so many have reached out to him and still treat him as champion has fueled Foster’s resolve to win back his title.
“I think [Conceicao] is a durable, tough fighter that you have to take his will,” Foster said. “He’s not just going to give it up. He’s that kind of guy. But I also think you can take it, you just have to bring it to him. I respect him as a fighter. He is going to come to fight and probably will try to do something different but, either way, I’ll be prepared for it.
“I’m just looking to prove everybody wrong and get my revenge. The way I feel about it is that 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 get busy. I’ve been visualizing it everyday and every night, when I wake up and all day, everyday. I just can’t wait.”
In addition to the title fight, there are more matchups in the lower weight classes on Saturday. Raymond Muratalla is set to take on Jesus Perez at lightweight. Muratalla, 27, is undefeated at 21-0 in his burgeoning career with 16 knockouts to his name. Plus, Abraham Nova is back in action when he takes on Humberto Galindo at junior lightweight.
“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” Muratalla said at the final press conference. “Every fight, I’m looking to make a statement, so I can get these title fights that I want.”
“Boxing is a very subjective sport, but the fans know who the champ is and how you present yourself in the ring,” Nova said. “The last two fights didn’t go my way, but this is called perseverance. You have to keep taking these challenges and keep showing the world who you are because those three judges don’t see you as the champion… but the fans know who you really are. I fight to win, but I also fight for the fans. So, if I give the fans a fight and they feel like I won, I’m happy with that.”
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the card with the latest odds before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event.
Fight card, odds
- O’Shaquie Foster -420 vs. Robson Conceição (c) +320, WBC junior lightweight title
- Raymond Muratalla -2400 vs. Jesus Perez +1100, lightweight
- Bryce Mills vs. Mike Ohan Jr., junior welterweight
- Abraham Nova -1800 vs. Humberto Galindo +800, junior lightweight
Viewing information
- Date: Nov. 2
- Location: Turning Stone Resort Casino — Verona, New York
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (main card/main event)
- Where to watch: ESPN
Prediction
This has all the makings to be a much more exciting rematch than the first fight turned out to be, especially considering Foster is so focused on not leaving things to the judges’ imagination. Should Foster increase his offensive output, which he has openly suggested, it should provide Conceicao more openings to exchange with him at close distance.
But if there’s one thing Foster proved in the first fight, it’s that his speed and footwork is a problem for Conceicao to discipline. So the rematch comes down to how well Foster can manage the balance between both styles in order to avoid being too slick and relying on his defense while making sure not to linger too long in areas where Conceicao can make him pay.
Conceicao is as smart as he is durable. But there’s no question Foster is motivated to put the pieces together and author the best performance of his professional career. This fight may be just as close as the first one in terms of the judges’ scores, but Foster has all the tools necessary to secure retribution as a nearly 4-to-1 betting favorite.
Pick: Foster via UD12
