O’Shaquie Foster followed through on his promise and showed his superior skill and talent against a flummoxed Raymond Ford in front of a raucous local fanbase.
Though Ford is also a (recent) Houston resident, he was roundly booed during his entrance. And any doubt that he had any hopes of a rooting public was eviscerated when Foster was led to the ring by local rapper Trae The Truth in an electric entrance.
Foster (25-3, 12 KO), originally from nearby Orange, Texas, landed a good 1-2 in the first round, but in a moment I’ve personally never witnessed in decades of boxing, Foster showed his strength by tossing Ford (18-2-1, 8 KO) out of the ring.
In round 2, Foster landed a couple of right hands.
In round 3, Foster looked comfortable boxing and moving around the ring.
Ford finally landed a left hand of substance in round 4.
This seemed to wake up Foster, as he boxed beautifully in round 5. He was out throwing Ford 20 to 1.
Foster continued boxing and moving in round 6.
Foster opened up a little bit in round 7.
In round 8, Foster kept up his consistent work while Ford was looking for a Hail Mary punch.
Foster seemingly took a round off in the 9th, allowing Ford to have a right hand towards the end of the round.
In round 10, Ford ramped up the pressure. But at this stage, it was far too late.
Foster landed a good left hook in round 11, and continued to win simply by out-hustling a confused Ford.
In round 12, like a true champion, Foster tried to close the show. This was a wise move, as the final cards showed (as usual) the judges had the fight scored closer than the public.
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In an astonishing scorecard, one judge had the fight scored a DRAW. This judge should be banned from boxing and then taken to an optometrist.
The other two had more reasonable scorecards of 116-112, and 118-110 (which was my score as well).
Foster proceeded to immediately call Shakur Stevenson into the ring. Whether that fight actually happens next is not a foregone conclusion, but credit to Foster for wanting to challenge the best.
As for Ford, his career is at a crossroads. In his biggest fight (that he preceded with bravado), he had a strategy as if he were a one-punch knockout artist. Back to the drawing board, as the old saying goes.
In the co-main event, in an otherwise dreary affair, Charlie Sheehy (13-0, 8 KO) finally opened up and stopped Colombian opponent Nike Theran (20-3, 14 KO) in the eighth round. That won him some grace with a crowd that was quickly losing patience.
Undercard notes:
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. It seems like just yesterday I watched Miguel Flores make his professional boxing debut. And not too long before that, I watched his brother (now deceased) box as well.
Actually, that was many years ago, and now Flores is not a prospect, but a body brought in to be sacrificed to a prospect (Javon Woodard) while selling tickets at the same time.
In the second round, it seems it would be a quick stoppage as Flores (29-6, 13 KO) was put down by a right hand from Woodard (17-2, 15 KO) and then hurt again after he got up. Woodard went on the offensive in round 3 as well.
But then something interesting happened; instead of folding up, Flores decided to fight back. Though he lacked power, from rounds 4 to 7, Flores outworked Woodard and showed he still belonged.
But in round 8, Woodard again started landing ferocious right hands and put Flores down again. Flores had the heart to get up, which only led him to being knocked out again, this time for the full count at 2 minutes, 31 seconds. One hopes Flores finally retires, particularly after the fate of his older brother dying due to boxing.
Omari Jones (7-0, 4 KO) won an uninteresting decision over fellow undefeated prospect Diego Zuniga (9-1, 7 KO). Scores were 80-71.
Zaquin Moses (7-0, 3 KO) defeated Travis Crawford (7-7, 2 KO) 60-54 over six rounds. Despite Moses showing dazzling speed and accuracy early on, Crawford proved durable and lasted the distance.