This action-packed boxing weekend will reach its climax with the PBC card taking place on Saturday night at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Among the various high-profile matchups scheduled, for our weekly analysis we selected the one between WBC super featherweight world champion O’Shaquie Foster and his challenger Stephen Fulton: a fascinating fight that we Italians must follow with particular attention… If our own Michael Magnesi wins the eliminator on January 31 against Mark Magsayo, he would earn the chance to face the winner of Foster vs Fulton.
Foster and his allergy to leading the action
Some fighters only know how to move forward and struggle badly when forced to box off the back foot. Others are the exact opposite: brilliant at slipping incoming fire, but lost at sea when they have to take the initiative. O’Shaquie Foster belongs to the second group: the American has an outstanding natural talent for neutralizing his opponents’ offense, but he doesn’t shine as much when he has to raise the tempo and take center stage.
His two fights against Brazil’s Robson Conceição were quite emblematic in this sense. In the first meeting Foster used his preferred style and masterfully shut down his opponent’s boxing, only to be denied a clear victory by a baffling decision from the judges. In the rematch Foster chose to switch things up and accept close-range exchanges more frequently, but even though he managed to edge out a razor-thin win, he didn’t transmit his usual sense of having full control of the fight.
Fulton’s rebirth
The devastating defeat he suffered at the hands of Naoya Inoue in Japan seemed to have completely derailed Fulton’s career, stripping him not only of his undefeated record and his belts, but also of that ingredient more important than any other for a fighter: self-confidence. Upon returning to the ring against Mexican-American Carlos Castro, Fulton looked flat and uninspired, even suffering a knockdown and leading many observers to call the decision in his favor highly controversial.
However, just when many thought he was already on the decline, “Cool Boy” delivered one of the best performances of his career, capturing the WBC featherweight world title against the tough Brandon Figueroa and defying the bookmakers’ odds. A true rebirth that gave Fulton such renewed confidence that he has now set out to attempt the historic feat of winning a world title also at super featherweight.
What will happen? Boxe Punch’s prediction!
There are several ways to analyze a boxing match that hasn’t taken place yet, trying to anticipate its possible dynamics. One of them is based on comparing the fighters’ styles — a very important operation that can help us understand who might be more troubled by the other’s way of fighting.
Following this approach, we can certainly say that Fulton has the right attributes to create more than a few problems for Foster. Cool Boy is a fighter capable of imposing a very high pace on his bouts and, when needed, dragging his opponents into a grueling close-quarters battle.
Foster, who prefers long-range boxing — where he can rely on his timing, elegance, and accurate, disciplined jab — could struggle if dragged into a chaotic, high-intensity fight that forces him to keep his hands moving constantly without giving him the time he needs to think.
However, stylistic comparison isn’t the only factor to be taken into account when attempting to predict the outcome of a fight. Several other equally important parameters come into play, and one of them is the physical attributes of the two contenders.
O’Shaquie Foster has been settled in the super featherweight division for several years after even spending some time at lightweight. His physique is structurally that of a natural super featherweight, and it’s very likely that he will enjoy a significant advantage in this department over Fulton, who started at super bantamweight and already looked rather small compared to the featherweights he faced recently.
In my opinion, this time “Cool Boy” will struggle to impose himself in the clinches, and when he tries to box from long range, he will suffer from the height and reach gap. I expect the challenger’s strong determination to make the fight uncertain and exciting in some phases nonetheless, but over twelve rounds I believe Foster will use his size and talent to earn the judges’ favor.
Therefore, I predict a win for O’Shaquie Foster by about four points on the scorecards.