O'Shaquie Foster retains WBC super featherweight title against Raymond Ford by majority decision

HOUSTON — O'Shaquie "Ice Water" Foster passed a stiff test Saturday night at the Fertitta Center, retaining his WBC super featherweight title against Raymond Ford with a majority decision. Scores read 114-114, 118-110, and 116-112 in favor of the champion.

It was not a dominant performance from Foster early. The opening rounds belonged largely to Ford, a former WBA featherweight titleholder making his move up to 130 pounds. The 27-year-old southpaw from Camden, N.J. came in sharp, using his timing and speed to land counters and a persistent right hand that kept finding Foster's face. Through five rounds, the broadcast team had the bout dead even, and the crowd at Fertitta was locked in.

Ford looked like he might be building something real. He controlled distance, mixed in body shots, and his southpaw angles gave Foster consistent trouble. In Round 4, a sharp left to the face followed by another right hand showed just how dangerous Ford could be when he timed his shots. By Round 6, Foster was underestimating what he was dealing with, and it was showing. Ford's timing and hand speed were getting the better of him, and the broadcast team noted Ford may have been ahead in the fight heading into the second half.

Then the second half happened.

Foster made adjustments, tightened his output, and started working his angles at his range. By the eighth, the tide had shifted. Ford began to show fatigue, and Foster took over as the busier and cleaner fighter. His right hand started landing with authority and his body work picked up. Rounds 11 and 12 were Foster's clearest, as he closed hard with combinations and activity that may have been the difference on the cards.

It was a fight that never had one clean narrative until the final bell. Ford did real work in the early and middle rounds, targeting the ribs and mixing his attack from the southpaw stance. But he could not maintain that pace, and Foster would not let him dictate the final chapters.

After the decision was announced, the night did not end quietly. Foster called out Shakur Stevenson from the ring. Stevenson did not hesitate. He jumped through the ropes and got right in Foster's face, calling him a bum in front of the Houston crowd. Foster fired back, demanding respect and making clear he wanted that fight. The two had to be physically separated by officials before things escalated further. It was the kind of post-fight scene that writes its own promotional material.

In his post-fight comments, Foster acknowledged a slow start. He said he was a bit rusty in the early rounds and that Ford came in sharp. But he said all he had to do was adjust, and once he did, he took everything away from him. Foster added that if a Stevenson fight does not come together, he wants the Emanuel Navarrete fight next.

Foster retains at 130. The division just got a lot more interesting.