Robson Conceicao defends his WBC super featherweight title against former champion O’Shaquie Foster in a 12-round rematch this Saturday, November 2, at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
If Foster wants to get his belt back, he will have to be much busier as he was outworked in every round of the fight by Conceicao, who was always on the attack and dominated.
Foster occasionally threw some pot shots, but then returned to his shell for long stretches and tried to block punches. While Foster would look good if he got his single shots, it was impossible to ignore how many shots Conceicao hit him. He was like a total wave crashing over Foster, who was overwhelmed.
The people who saw Foster win seemed to have tunnel vision, focusing on his rare punches and ignoring how he got peppered with shots from the harder-hitting, much busier Conceicao.
We saw the same Shakur style from Foster in his previous fight against Abraham Nova earlier this year on February 16th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The judges gave Foster a 12-round split decision despite Nova outworking him throughout the fight. Foster didn’t learn his lesson from that fight; therefore he was beaten by Conceicao.
That lazy minimalist approach doesn’t work at the pro level. It may have worked for Foster when he was an amateur, but fighters have to work hard in the pros. They can’t let their opponents throw all the punches and then hope the judges will give them the decision based on four or five shots that landed in the round.
The event will be shown live on ESPN+, starting at 5:50 PM ET.
The WBC ordered the rematch due to Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) shouting over Conceicao’s 12-round split decision victory earlier this year on July 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. They felt Foster, 31, had been robbed of a win by the judges.
Foster’s minimalist approach to fighting, opting to throw the occasional punch, is why the judges gave the win to the Challenger Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs). It’s hard for judges to give a fighter a decision win when they’re not working, and their opponent is attacking non-stop with punches, as Conceicao did. Foster fought a lot like Shakur Stevenson, who went head to head against Artem Harutyunyan on that card.
Undercard Fights:
Jahi Tucker vs. Quilisto Madera
Raymond Muratalla vs. Jesus Perez
Abraham Nova vs. Humberto Galindo
Damian Knyba vs Richard Lartey
“If you are the champion, you have to show why you are the champion,” Conceicao said. “You have to assert yourself and try to knock out your opponent. You are not supposed to run all the time. You’re not supposed to throw singles.”
“Now he has another opportunity. But I’m the champion now. I will show why I am the champion. I will assert myself and go for the knockout. I come to hit him hard and often.”
