Raymond Ford says Foster hated his title win

“That was a time where I was getting ready for a fight. This is before I was even in the world title conversations at 126. I texted O’Shaquie on Instagram like, ‘Yo, can we get some sparring? Can we get some work in?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, cool.’ We set the date and everything. Then, when the day came, I texted him the night before like, ‘Are we still good for tomorrow?’ and he saw me up,” Ford told the Mr Versace podcast at Ring Magazine.

“When I got to the gym, he wasn’t there. So that’s where I’m like, damn, this is soft. Why would you set up sparring, give me your word that we’re going to work, and then you don’t show up? After I won my title at 126, he went on Twitter and said I was food. That’s when I started to think about that time with him, I still felt like he didn’t want to fight me,” Ford said.

Ford also expects a hostile atmosphere in Texas, but believes the crowd reaction will motivate him once the fight begins.

“I expect them to be there for him. We in Texas. Texas people, they’re going to drive for themselves,” Ford said. “I expect to get the boos and all that walking into the arena. But it’s going to fuel me. It’s going to change me into a different person that night and I can’t wait for that. My job is to shut them up.”

Ford later predicted a dominant performance against Foster while discussing what fans should expect from him on fight night.

“He’s doing what I want in there. Dominating. I know he said the same thing, but I’m really going to bring some pain,” says Raymond.

The fight is Ford’s first attempt at becoming a two-division world champion after previously holding a featherweight title.