The main event of the night was a fight that may have flown under the radar in the mainstream, but hardcore boxing fans had been anticipating it since the announcement and it certainly delivered.

O’Shaquie Foster (22-2, 12 ko) made the second defense of his WBC super featherweight title against world-ranked contender Abraham “Super” Nova (23-2, 16 ko) at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York. After a feel-out first round, the challenger began to have some success on the offensive. In round four a clubbing right hand got the attention of Foster, and Nova then followed up with a body assault in what was his best round of the fight. Halfway through the fight, Nova had a 50-46 connect advantage and had trimmed down the live betting odds of the fight to virtually 50/50.

As the fight entered the back half, Foster began landing the sharper punches and strung together some good rounds and became the favorite on the live odds. Foster finished strong with a knockdown in the closing seconds of the twelfth round. Nova was off balance but a grazing left hook did land which caused referee Steve Willis to start his count. The fight went to the cards and Foster was awarded the split decision victory (115-112, 113-114, 116-111). Foster finished with a 139-122 advantage on the punch stats, and sealed the victory with that last second knockdown. Had Nova won the last round the fight would have been ruled a split draw.

Foster further established himself as the top guy in the 130lb division and has now primarily shifted his attention to a unification fight with WBA champion Lamont Roach. In defeat, Nova certainly impressed and proved he belonged at the highest level the sport has to offer. He came in a sizable underdog but fought nothing like one and won over any doubters that he still had as well as everyone in attendance. He will be on the world stage for years to come, and if he continues to build off of his recent momentum like I believe he will then a world title of his own is certainly in the cards for the near future.

The two guys who don’t get nearly the credit they deserve are the two head trainers in the main event. Both Bobby Benton and Mark DeLuca left their imprint on the fight and got the absolute best out of their fighters. They both utilized a war of words to rally their fighters and motivate them to finish the fight strong.

DeLuca delivered a speech for the ages entering the twelve and final round, which Joe Tessitore called “unbelievable stuff” and anyone who watched the broadcast without a doubt shared the same sentiment.

“You got the eleventh with your heart, your balls and your faith. All that had work and all that prayer, and all that time away from your family. All that living on the floor, and fighting, and getting knocked out, everyone thinking you were f—— finished. And now you’re here fighting for a WBC world championship title. But we have one more round, you have to win this last round!! Do you understand me? Show him!! Leave it all out there I don’t care if you fall flat on your face, you leave it all the f— out there. Leave it all out there Abraham, this f—— kid’s tired, just as tired as you, but you’re f—— winning.”

After round seven, Benton told Foster the fight was “too close” and urged him to up the intensity and then had this to say before the final three minutes:

“Put him on his ass for me okay. Don’t let him crowd you, he’s doing that s— so he can survive. Don’t let him do it.”

– Jack Kelly

Andres Cortes Delivers Beatdown to Chevalier

After a slow opening round, Andres Cortes asserted his physicality and laid a beatdown on Bryan Chevalier, nearly knocking Chevalier out of the ring in the third and forcing his corner to stop the fight in the fourth.

Cortes showed world class sharpness and hand speed in the pocket and Chevalier simply could not compete. It would appear that Cortes is ready for the best at 130 pounds after consecutive wins over Chevalier and top rated Xavier Martinez and has the size, speed, and physicality to get any of the top guys a run for their money. For me, a fight between Cortes and Abraham Nova is one of the best matchups that could be made at jr lightweight.

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Brutally Knocks Out Bernard Torres

The ITRBoxing 2023 prospect of the year and Brownsville Brooklyn native Bruce Carrington was once again nothing short of spectacular in brutally knocking the game and crafty Bernard Torres, who presented genuine resistance to Carrington’s increasingly offensive style before being suddenly laid out in the fourth.

Torres, who boxed effectively in stretches gave Carrington some of the more competitive rounds of his career, showed up to win. Unfortunately this left him open for Shu Shu’s overhand right in the middle of a heated exchange. Carrington (11-0, 7 ko), like Cortes, looks like he could be ready, if not close to ready, for the best that featherweight has to offer despite only having eleven professional bouts.

UNDERCARD

• Heavyweight prospect Guido Vianello (12-1-1, 10 ko) scored 5 knockdowns en route to a sensational first round knockout over Moses Johnson (11-2-2, 8 ko). Vianello has struggled in his last few performances, and while he has always had the skillset of a great fighter it never seemed to come together entirely until this performance, in which Vianello seemed to elevate his physicality and sense of range.
• Isaah Flaherty (7-0, 3 ko) won a rugged decision over Julien Baptiste (6-4, 3 ko).
• Ofacio Falcon (11-0, 6 ko) won an impressive competitive shutout decision over the skilled Edward Ceballos (11-5-1, 6 ko)
• Tiger Johnson (12-0, 6 ko) looked sensational in a first round knockout over Paulo Cesar Galdino (13-8-2, 9 ko), who is much tougher than his record might indicate.
• Euri Cedeno (8-0-1, 7 ko) dominated rugged veteran Antonio Todd (16-10, 9 ko) for a sixth round stoppage, beating Todd in a more dominant fashion than many skilled fighters who have shared the ring with him.
• Harlem welterweight Arnold Gonzalez (14-0, 6 ko) opened up the card opened up the card with a tough decision win over Charles Stanford (7-5, 4 ko)

– Dakota McCormick

All in all, it was a great night of fights and it was awesome to be in the building to witness it live. Having been around Abraham and his team for his past few camps, I can’t be any more prouder of them and truly cannot wait to see what the future holds.

– Jack Kelly