O’Shaquie Foster scored a shocking victory over Rey Vargas on Showtime this past Saturday night.
Foster claimed the vacant WBC super featherweight title with a victory over the two-division champion. The event took place under the Premier Boxing Champions event from the Alamodome in San Antonio.
“I can’t put it into words (what this means),” Foster said in the ring afterward. “I know my mom, my uncle, my grandpa, they are all looking down on me.”
Foster, a veteran of four SHOBOX: The New Generation bouts, has overcome countless hardships in his life, including the death of his mother to cancer when he was 12. He lost a decision in just his ninth fight on SHOBOX and dropped a split decision three fights later.
But Foster fought confidently and relentlessly on Saturday, as if he was the undefeated fighter entering the fight, peppering Vargas with jabs and out-working him in the later rounds. With the win, Foster became the 88th SHOBOX alum to win a world title.
“It feels great,” Foster went on. “Dedication, hard work. I have a great team around me. Getting away from the distractions and preparing myself mentally and physically. My preparation was very important. I saw a lot of tape. I threw combinations. I knew that he counter reacted to previous opponents. I tried to switch up my technique.”
Former champion and San Antonio-native Mario Barrios snapped his two-fight losing streak with a razor sharp, career-rejuvenating performance against Jovanie Santiago in Saturday’s co-feature.
Barrios dropped Santiago in the eighth round with a left to the body and followed up, causing referee Mark Calo-Oy, upon the request of Santiago’s corner, to stop the fight at 1:42 of the eighth of their welterweight contest scheduled for 10 rounds. Barrios led 70-63 on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.