O’Shaquie Foster Beats Raymond Ford On Points

O’Shaquie Foster retained his WBC super-featherweight title in Houston with a majority decision over Raymond Ford, though the bout was far more demanding than the widest scorecard suggested.

The judges returned scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 114-114 at the Fertitta Center, giving Foster the verdict after twelve rounds of sharp, tense boxing between two men who had brought plenty of needle into fight week. A draw on one card reflected the early competitiveness. The 118-110 card rather suggested somebody had misplaced a few close rounds down the back of a ringside chair.

Ford, the former featherweight champion moving through the 130lb division, began brightly. Fighting from the southpaw stance, he used his feet well, changed the angle on Foster’s jab, and found counters before the champion had settled into his rhythm. His left hand was sharp enough to make Foster hesitate, and in the early rounds, he looked the more fluid operator.

Foster, however, is an awkward champion to discourage. He can look economical to the point of doing too little, but his best work comes when he has measured the distance and started making an opponent pay for small mistakes. By the middle rounds, he was finding the jab more regularly, stepping across to create room for the right hand, and forcing Ford to fight in shorter bursts.

There was also a strange flashpoint in the opening round, when Foster shoved Ford out of the ring after a heated build-up between the pair. It was not elegant, and it did not belong in the manual, but it added to the feeling that neither man had come merely to share a polite championship contest.

The technical pattern mattered more than the theatre. Ford had success when he boxed in and out, kept his feet alive, and made Foster reset. When he stayed too long at mid-range, Foster’s accuracy and timing began to tell. The champion did not overwhelm him with volume, but he landed the more authoritative shots as the fight wore on and gradually imposed his sense of order.

The final two rounds were decisive. Foster finished the stronger man, taking command when a close fight demanded clarity. His work in the eleventh and twelfth gave the judges something definite to hold on to, while Ford’s earlier sharpness had begun to fade into isolated moments rather than sustained control.

Ford leaves with credit. He proved he belongs at the world level at super-featherweight and caused Foster genuine problems with his movement, southpaw angles and composure. But close, clever work early is rarely enough against a champion who closes hard and makes the last impression.

Foster’s victory was not spectacular, nor was it entirely smooth, but it was professional and deserved. He remains champion, and after the final bell, his attention quickly turned to Shakur Stevenson, who was in the ring for a heated exchange. Whether that fight is realistic at 130, 135, or elsewhere is another matter. Boxing has never been short of men shouting at one another under bright lights.

For now, Foster has done what champions must do. He kept his belt, solved the challenger in front of him, and reminded the division that beating him requires more than a good start.

I enjoyed this one, even though during fight week, I thought the beef might actually get in the way of these two producing the goods. The scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 114-114 after a competitive 12 rounds were a bit all over the place, but the right man won on the night.

Ford started well, using southpaw angles, sharp counters and lively feet to make Foster think early. His jab and straight left disrupted Foster’s rhythm, and for several rounds he looked the sharper man. Foster, though, has been in these tight fights before. Once he found the range, he used his jab, lateral steps and timed right hands to make Ford reset and gradually take control.

There was a flashpoint in the first when Foster shoved Ford out of the ring, but the real story was the champion’s cleaner work down the stretch. Ford boxed well in spells and proved he belongs at world-level, but he could not maintain his early sharpness through the championship rounds. Foster did not dominate every minute, but he finished stronger, imposed himself when it mattered, and earned the nod.