At the Prudential Center in Newark, during the undercard of the Top Rank event, Brazilian Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KO) surprisingly managed to dethrone WBC super featherweight world champion O’Shaquie Foster (22-3-0, 12 KO) by winning a Split Decision. However, the verdict left many pundits deeply perplexed, as Foster had seemingly won the fight quite clearly. The official scores were: 116-112 for Foster, 115-113 for Conceicao, and 116-112 for Conceicao.
From the opening exchanges, the significant differences in the tactical approaches adopted by the two fighters were evident. Conceicao, immediately taking control of the center of the ring, focused as usual on volume, exhibiting his high work rate and favoring straight punches. Foster, on the other hand, moved quickly on his feet, showing great defensive concentration and relying on more sporadic but also more effective and explosive offensive actions. Starting often from too far away, the challenger struggled immensely to find the right range, being continually made to miss by the champion’s backward steps and torso bends.
Conceicao had his best moments in the middle rounds of the fight when an overly conservative Foster left him with the initiative, limiting himself to a few counterattacks. Even in this scenario, the Brazilian achieved little: the only punch he occasionally landed was the left jab to the body, but at least his willing pressure and dedication, contrasted with Foster’s reluctance to throw punches, made it acceptable to award him a few points.
The champion, however, regained firm control starting from the eighth round, taking advantage of the openings Conceicao left during his fruitless advances to land clean and sudden punches, with an admirable mix of straight punches, hooks, and uppercuts. The American did not drastically increase his action intensity but boxed with greater determination and confidence, so much so that the body language of the two fighters blatantly displayed the champion’s calmness and the challenger’s anxiety.
A seemingly very tired Conceicao gave his all in the final round, desperately trying to overturn the outcome of a fight that seemed decided, but his generous flurries were easily evaded by a Foster convinced he had already done enough to secure the verdict. Instead, the incredible official scorecards, once made public, showed that the last round would have been crucial for the American to earn a draw and retain his belt. As mentioned at the beginning of this report, I disagree: my score is 116-112 in favor of Foster, who now deserves a rematch as soon as possible to avenge the injustice suffered.