O’Shaquie Foster said he would beat Emanuel Navarrete dominant. Saturday night at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, he did exactly that — and put two knockdowns on it for emphasis. Foster outboxed Navarrete over 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision, 118-108, 118-108 and 115-111, retaining his WBC super featherweight title and taking Navarrete’s WBO and IBF belts, plus the vacant Ring Magazine title, in the DAZN main event. Foster moves to 26-3. Navarrete falls to 40-3-1.
From the early rounds, this was Foster’s fight to control. His accuracy and movement frustrated Navarrete all night — leaping left hooks, straight punches, then gone before the heavier return fire could arrive, while Navarrete kept advancing, reaching and missing. Navarrete’s best work came in the third, when he trapped Foster near the ropes, dug to the body and forced him to defend through a prolonged combination. It did not last. From the fourth, Foster took the initiative back with body jabs and sharp counters — including a counter uppercut Navarrete never solved — and used his movement and clinches to break up every attempt at a rally. The numbers told the story: Foster outlanded Navarrete 157-99 overall and 114-70 in power punches, and Navarrete connected on just 18.8 percent of what he threw.
There was one late flash of danger. Navarrete landed some of his cleanest punches in a competitive 10th and hurt Foster with a heavy shot near the end of the 11th. Foster answered by making the 12th his best round of the night. Chasing a knockout he had to have, Navarrete walked onto counter right hands — a short right on the inside for the first knockdown, then a right hand clean on the chin for the second. Navarrete rose both times and heard the final bell, but there was no argument left to make.
“I knew he was going to be strong and awkward. He’s a great champion, I just had a little bit more in me tonight,” Foster said afterward. “I felt like I was the better inside fighter and outside fighter. I knew I was levels above him, I just wanted to prove it.”
One Belt From Undisputed
Foster now holds three of the four belts at 130 pounds, and undisputed has never been done in this division in the four-belt era. The last piece belongs to WBA champion Anthony Cacace, who defends against Nick Ball on December 19 — a fight Foster says he will be watching, with a possible WBO mandatory defense against Charly Suarez in between. Shakur Stevenson, whom Foster has called out for years, is still “at the top of the list” — but Foster made the order clear: undisputed first, then he moves up to make his mark.
We Told You: Foster, and Clear
Give Rnd5Media its victory lap on this one. Foster told Timothy Bradley Jr. this week that Navarrete had ducked him for years and that he would win “in a dominant fashion” — and our pick was Foster, and clear. Zab Judah leaned Foster too. What we got was a dominant decision, two knockdowns in the championship round, and a new three-belt king at 130. The pick cashed exactly the way it was called.
Video credit: AKHi TV.
Read next: Foster to Bradley: Navarrete Ducked Me for Years — “I’m Going to Beat Him Dominant” · Zab Judah Leans Mason Over Schofield and Foster Over Navarrete
