O'Shaquie "Ice Water" Foster (22-2, 12 KOs) defended his WBC junior lightweight world title with a split decision over Abraham "El Super" Nova (23-2, 16 KOs) Friday evening at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
After studying each other with jabs and feints in the early rounds, Foster began to take control by rounds six and seven, landing power shots on a Nova who was beginning to fade.
Foster hurt Nova with a series of chopping right hands in the ninth to begin widening his lead and punctuated his performance by dropping him with a left hook in the final round,
One judge had it 113-114 for Nova, which was overruled by scores of 115-112 and 116-111 for Foster.
Foster said, “I don’t want to make any excuses, but when I went to throw a right hand his elbow hit the middle of my bicep, so it kind of tightened my stuff up. But it’s all good.
“My rhythm was off tonight. It’s all good. We came home with the win, so I can’t complain. I’m a 12-round fighter and I know how to make judgements through the fight. So, he came on strong in the beginning, but I found my rhythm and his timing, and then I started picking it off.
“Navarrete is busy. I’ll take on Lamont Roach Jr. or the winner of Oscar Valdez vs. Liam Wilson.”
Nova said, “O’Shaquie is a great fighter. He did hit me, but I did slip {in the 12th round}. I lost my balance. I wasn’t hurt. The fight would have been a draw if that hadn’t happened. This is boxing. I know they probably think I wasn’t that good. But you guys see I’m a great fighter.
“Hopefully you guys can see me here again. I’m a world class contender. O’Shaquie, we can run it back. Let’s do it again. If not, I can fight Navarrete or anybody.”
Cortes Pummels Chevalier in Four
Andres Cortes (21-0, 12 KOs) captured the WBO Intercontinental junior lightweight title with a fourth-round stoppage win over Puerto Rican contender Bryan Chevalier (20-2-1, 16 KOs).
From the opening bell, Cortes connected with thudding left and right hooks, forcing Chevalier to fight off his back foot. The Las Vegas native continued to land with ease, hurting Chevalier badly in the fourth, which eventually forced his corner to halt the action at 2:17.
Shu York State of Mind
Featherweight phenom Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington landed a right hand from his hip pocket that put Bernard Torres down and out for the count in the fourth round. Carrington (11-0, 7 KOs) from Brownsville, Brooklyn, followed up his 2023 Prospect of the Year campaign with an early contender for Knockout of the Year.
Torres (18-2, 8 KOs) collapsed face-first to the canvas, and referee Charlie Fitch wasted no time in waving off the fight.
Carrington said, “It always means the world to perform in front of my home crowd. New York City. Madison Square Garden. Ya’ll make me want to turn up every time. Every single time I fight here I get a knockout. Every time I fight here, I get a stoppage.
“I felt that he leaned into the punch, and it landed at the right place with the right leverage. But he’s a tough competitor. He’s a really good guy. I liked how he uses his feet. He uses his angles well and knows how to get out of certain situations. But we were ready for everything.”
Heavyweight: Italian Olympian Guido Vianello (12-1-1, 10 KOs) blasted out Moses Johnson (11-2-2, 8 KOs) via first-round TKO. Vianello dropped Johnson four times before referee Shada Murdaugh halted the fight at 2:59.
Middleweight: Isaah Flaherty (7-0, 3 KOs) scored a workmanlike six-round unanimous points verdict over Julien Baptiste (6-4, 3 KOs). Scores: 60-54 3x.
Junior Lightweight: Ofacio Falcon (11-0, 6 KOs) defeated Edward Ceballos (11-5-1, 6 KOs) via six-round unanimous decision. Ceballos pressed forward, but he was unable to deal with Falcon's elusiveness and counterpunching. Scores: 60-54 3x.
Junior Welterweight: Tiger Johnson (12-0, 6 KOs) made quick work of Paulo Galdino (13-8-2, 9 KOs), peppering his foe with a host of counterpunches before ending matters with a barrage at :49 of the first round.
Middleweight: Dominican Olympian Euri Cedeno (8-0-1, 7 KOs) scored a fifth-round TKO win against Antonio Todd (16-10, 9 KOs). Time of stoppage: 2:39.
Welterweight: Harlem native Arnold Gonzalez (14-0, 6 KOs) retained his unbeaten record with a six-round unanimous decision win over Charles Stanford (7-5, 4 KOs). Scores: 58-56 and 59-55 2x.