O’Shaquie Foster won a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jon Fernandez in a super featherweight bout at The Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
Foster moved, and punched off the ropes that befuddled the power punching Fernandez.
Foster, 129 1/2 lbs of Houston, Texas won by scores of 98-92 on all cards, and is now 14-2. Fernandez,z 129 3/4 lbs of Spain is 16-1.
Foster landed 145 of 407 punches. Fernandez was 102 of 611.
This was the best fight of my career,” said Foster, who was appearing on the ShoBox series for the fourth time. “I knew I had it in me, I just never put it together. I have a new team, I have a new trainer, a new strength and conditioning coach. This was what I dreamed of and we put in the work to make it happen.
“I knew he was a puncher and he’d come forward the whole fight. I knew I had to work off my jab and use my lateral movement. He had a little power, but he never got me clean. We’re going to sit down and look at the drawing board. I can tell you this, we’re not the B-side anymore.”
“His style was frustrating, but we were expecting it,” said the 23-year-old Fernandez, who was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in boxing. “We thought his conditioning would go down and he’d slow down in the later rounds. He didn’t (slow down) and that surprised me.
“I feel like we can still get better and better. We just had a bad game plan for this fight.”
Irvin Gonzalez won an eight-round unanimous decision over Carlos Ramos in a battle of undefeated featherweights.
Gonzalez, 126 lbs of Worcester, MA won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 to raise his mark to 11-0. Ramos, 125 1/2 lbs of Madrid, SPA is 9-1.
Gonzalez landed 72 of 464 punches. Ramos was just 38 of 225.
“It took me a few rounds to figure him out, but once I did he didn’t have anything on me,” said Gonzalez. “He only had the left hand and that was about it. He really didn’t throw any punches.
“This was a big learning experience for me. This was my second eight-rounder and it opened my eyes a little bit. I know I’m conditioned well but I have to go back to work.”
In a fight between undefeated lightweights, Steven Ortiz won an eight-round majority decision over Wesley Ferrer.
Ortiz, 134 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76, and is now 9-0. Ferrer, 134 3/4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 12-1-1.
“I think it was a pretty close fight,” said a disappointed Ferrer. “I thought I was winning the first few rounds, but I know I got out-worked in the last two rounds. At the end of the day, the judges saw something else and he got the win. If I won the last few rounds I would have won the fight.”
“I was coming off a long layoff and wasn’t as sharp as I should have been,” said the 25-year-old Ortiz. “I landed the sharper jabs and landed the harder shots. I think my ring experience and ring generalship was the difference in the fight.
“I want to come back a lot sharper and a lot smarter. At the end of the day, it was a learning experience. I got the win against a tough guy.”
In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Misael Lopez won a eight-round unanimous decision over James Wilkins.
In round five, Wilkins was deducted a point for a low blow.
Lopez, 128 3/4 lbs of Denver, CO won by scores of 79-72, 77-74 an 76-75 and is now 9-0. Wilkins, 128 1/2 lbs of Staten Island, NY is 5-1.
Lopez landed 249-790 punches. Wilkins was 132-530.
“I think the difference was I was able to make him miss, land the cleaner shots and used my boxing to dictate the pace,” said the 22-year-old Lopez. “I’m looking to keep going and stay on the big stage. Hopefully people and promoters will notice that I’m the real deal.”
“I think I did enough to pull it off,” said Wilkins. “I could see a split decision, maybe, but I dropped him and that wins the fight. That was a 10-8 round. I want to go back to the gym, work hard and get right back. You haven’t seen the last of me.”
