O’Shaquie Foster will defend his WBC super featherweight title against Raymond Ford in a DAZN main event on Saturday, May 30, from Houston, after what quickly became a pretty heated build between the two.
So who’s got the edge going into what many feel looks like something of a pick’em on paper?
O’Shaquie Foster’s recent form
Foster (24-3, 12 KO) has had a fine career, rescued after a pair of mild upset losses on ShoBox in 2015-16, after which he dialed it back, put in the work, and emerged a better fighter, everything he was meant
to be, and is now a two-time world champion at 130 lbs.
Foster, 32, also picked up a complete nonsense interim lightweight title last time out, which the WBC created out of thin air as a way of excusing Stephen Fulton not making weight in December, for what was meant to be a title defense by Foster.
However you slice that belt Foster immediately discarded, though, he looked good, and pretty well owned the ring against Fulton, a two-division champ. Outside of those losses a decade ago, Foster has been in terrific form for years now. He did lose a split decision to Robson Conceicao in 2024, but reversed that in the rematch four months later.
All in all, Foster’s won 14 of 15 over the last 10 years and made himself a top name at 130 for the last four years, when he went to Dubai and beat Muhammad Yaqubov, then took the WBC title by beating Rey Vargas in 2023, something seen as a bit of an upset among many at the time. He’s just fought, been consistent, and won for quite a long time now.
Raymond Ford’s recent form
Ford (18-1-1, 8 KO) won a world title at featherweight in 2024, then lost it three months later. He’s the sort of guy whose skills are constantly lauded by his promoter or TV commentators, but when you really look at the fight-by-fight results, you see clear inconsistency.
Sometimes, Ford is really good. Sometimes, he struggles, and this goes back years. The first sign for me came in 2021, when he went to a draw with Aaron Perez. There was, at that moment, some suspicion that maybe Perez was simply better than advertised. Then Perez lost two of his next three, and the losses came to club-level fighters. He hasn’t fought since 2024.
In 2022, Ford struggled to a decision win over Edward Vazquez, who actually was better than he was “supposed to be,” even if he can also be inconsistent. But Ford went on a nice run after that, and beat Otabek Kholmatov in a tough fight in early 2024, winning the WBA featherweight title, which he lost to Nick Ball in another tough one three months later, in a fight that frankly Ford probably should have passed on. Not only did he likely turn around too fast to face someone like Ball, but he admitted he was struggling with the weight, and went to 130 after.
The upside of some of Ford’s harder evenings is that he’s shown he’ll hang around and scrap when it doesn’t all go his way. There’s genuine value in that. At 130, he had two dominant wins over Orlando Gonzalez and Thomas Mattice, but last August in his most recent fight, Abraham Nova gave him a pretty decent test. Yet again, Ford got through it, and he won.
Who will win Foster vs Ford?
One school of thought is that Ford at his absolute best is better than Foster at his absolute best, but I’m not sure if that’s true.
The true measure of either man’s best is not what the score cards read in matchups that turned out to be one-sided or easy. It comes down more to what they’ve done when the going has gotten tough. Both have shown resilience, which is admirable and makes the fight even harder to predict.
Foster bounced back from the type of defeats that have derailed plenty of young careers, especially those with any level of hype behind them. Ford has cast aside doubts after several fights, including defeat, and come back to win and look better. Yeah, Abraham Nova gave him problems last time out; Nova’s a thoroughly decent fighter who can be a little tricky, it’s fair to give him that credit, and to think Ford beating him actually does prove something, even if it wasn’t easy. Nova wasn’t super easy for Foster back in 2024, either.
The most I’ve been impressed with Ford was against Kholmatek, who is a quality fighter. I think Ford even got stung a little in that fight and came through it. The most I’ve been impressed with Foster was him rallying from behind on the cards to stop Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez in 2023. For me, that really solidified him after the strong win over Rey Vargas.
In short, I agree with the general belief that this is a tough fight to pick. But I’ve got a clear if not overwhelming favorite based on one feeling in particular, which is that Foster’s superior length could give him a real edge here. Both of these guys are far more technician than brawler, they like to work outside and dictate the real estate of a fight. Foster beat Fulton handily doing that. I think Ford could have more success than a seemingly unmotivated Stephen Fulton, mind you, but it will still be hard. Foster is taller and longer. If the two both fight to their normal style, it’s going to be tough for Ford to get into the rhythm he wants, to really “flow” in the fight and get into that groove where he can be really effective. Foster has the tools and the skills to disrupt all of that.
On the other hand, I’m actually a bit wary about Foster fighting this one at home in Houston. That seems like an advantage, and certainly can be, but sometimes we see fighters get a bit overwhelmed by the pressures of fighting in their hometown. Foster hasn’t fought in Houston since a low-level fight in 2018; this will be his first big fight in the city. There absolutely can be a downside to trying to “show out” at home, we’ve seen it happen to fighters many times.
Still, I’m going with O’Shaquie to retain, because that’s more speculation than what makes me confident in his chances. I think that right now, he’s the better, more complete fighter. Not by miles, but by enough.
Prediction: O’Shaquie Foster by decision
