O’Shaquie Foster secured one of many yr’s largest wins Saturday when he dropped three-division champion Emanuel Navarrete twice within the twelfth spherical, profitable by unanimous determination to unify three tremendous featherweight world titles.
Foster (26-3, 12 KOs) exploited Navarrete’s wild, unconventional punching by staying defensively sharp, throwing quick palms and returning his gloves to a excessive guard, epitomizing a philosophy of hit-and-don’t-get-hit at Frost Financial institution Heart in San Antonio.
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Although there’s one different world champion at tremendous featherweight, the WBA titleholder Anthony Cacace, Foster’s three-fight run over the previous 11 months — beating Stephen Fulton, Raymond Ford and now Navarrete — presents a case that he is the professional No. 1 at 130 kilos, with the WBC, WBO and IBF belts all in his possession.
It’s akin to the run David Benavidez launched into from 2023 to 2024, beating Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade and Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 15 months to gatecrash the pound-for-pound dialog.
Now, there is just one factor “Shock” desires subsequent.
“I need to go undisputed,” he mentioned after his twenty sixth skilled win. “I solely want yet one more [belt] to grow to be undisputed [champion] and fulfill my largest dream.”
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Cacace defends that final remaining belt towards Nick Ball in a WBA tremendous featherweight world title struggle on Dec. 19.
With Foster conceding he solely has “one or two fights left in me” at 130 kilos, it creates a deadline for a struggle towards the Cacace-Ball winner to materialize.
Foster desires that struggle subsequent, whereas suggesting the returning three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko — who watched Saturday’s occasion from ringside — first takes a “tune-up” struggle earlier than they meet. Lomachenko, 38, final fought in Could 2024 and introduced his retirement in June 2025.
“Once I beat him, I do not need no excuses,” Foster mentioned of Lomachenko. “He is been retired.”
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If and when it occurs, Lomachenko is a “skill-for-skill struggle” Foster would relish. “I like it,” he mentioned.
As soon as he leaves tremendous featherweight for light-weight, although, there’s just one struggle Foster desires first.
“I will go see Shakur [Stevenson],” he mentioned of the pound-for-pound star and four-division division, who gave Foster his props Saturday evening following the Navarrete win.
Mentioned Stevenson:
Helluva fighter he won’t ever give me my credit score however I will be actual tonight he confirmed his stage. That is a problem that will get me away from bed. Let’s do it each time he is prepared
I will be right here after his undisputed run!
Taken collectively, a 2027 sequence of bouts involving the Cacace-Ball winner for the undisputed title, Lomachenko in a battle between eras, and Stevenson in an all-American showdown may present Foster with a runway to translate his trade respect at this time into breakout stardom tomorrow.
