WBC super featherweight O’Shaquie Foster (22-2, 12 KOs) held onto his title with a 12-round split decision against the relentless heavy-handed Abraham ‘Super’ Nova (23-2, 16 KOs) in the main event on Friday night at the Madison Square Garden in New York
Foster did an outstanding job of using his wrestling skills and a Shakur-esque style of pulling back to grind out a narrow victory over the determined Nova. In the 12th round, Foster dropped a reckless Nova with a crisp right hand to the head.
The scores were 116-111, 115-112 Foster, 114-113 Nova.
Nova’s Early Surge
In the first four rounds, Nova got the better of the action with his pressure and hard shots to the head. Foster then took over the contest beginning in the fifth, using grappling and pulling back to neutralize Nova’s offense.
Nova was at his best in the early part of the fight, when he was at full strength and connecting with hard punches. However, like in Nova’s loss to Robeisy Ramirez in 2022, he gassed out after four rounds and was easy pickings for Foster from that point on.
Foster wasn’t nearly as good at dealing with Nova as Robeisy, but he’s not that type of talent, so he had to focus more on grappling and landing short punches at close range to get the better of Nova.
Foster’s Mid-Fight Resurgence
In the fifth round, O’Shaquie got hit on his right bicep with a hard punch from Nova that gave him a dead arm briefly. However, O’Shaquie used his left hand to get the better of Nova for the remainder of the round and found his rhythm from that point on.
Foster’s footwork was key, allowing him to get away from Nova’s power shots and nail him with sneaky shots when he was coming forward. Slowly but surely, Foster worked his way back into the fight and then took over in the later rounds.
Dramatic Late Knockdown
In the twelfth round, Foster connected with a hard right hand that caused Nova to hit the canvas near the ropes. This knockdown proved to be key to the victory for Ice Water, which cemented the win.
All in all, it was a good win for Foster against a tough foe. It could have been a more entertaining fight from the champion, but he did what he could to avoid getting clipped by the powerful Nova. Foster had been hurt in his previous fight, and he didn’t want to take any chances.
