Newly-minted WBC interim junior lightweight beltholder Ryan Garner could be disappointed if he thinks his win over Michel Magnesi will land him a shot at full champion O’Shaquie Foster.
Garner won a bruising 12-rounder against Italian Magnesi at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, on June 20, in front of some 11,000 fans.
But Foster, who wants to fight Shakur Stevenson next, said a match with the 20-0 (10 KOs) “Piranha” is unlikely.
“I’m sorry to his fans, the UK fans,” said Foster. “But he didn’t have to force his way [into a fight with Foster]. We tried to make the fight happen, twice. He said, ‘no.’ I tried to give him an opportunity.”
Foster is the WBC’s full champion at 130lbs and has hurled himself into the pound for pound debate after a trio of wins against Cuban Robson Conceicao, Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton and Camden’s Raymond Ford.
And although Garner drew a good crowd in England and now has a slice of the WBC pie, Foster is in no hurry to oblige the Southampton man.
The Texan is 25-3 (12 KOs) and, asked whether a larger crowd and Garner winning a belt from Irish WBA champion Anto Cacace could change his mind, Foster added: “It could be, but I already tried to make that fight with him twice. Of course, I’m always thinking long term and what I would like my legacy to be. But we know this boxing game is real like, shaky, and certain fighters don’t want to make fights. So hopefully next fight we get, you know, Shakur, [Emanuel] Navarrete. And after that, we’ll see.”