Challenger Abraham Nova boxed well in the early stages of the fight, but O’Shaquie Foster took charge in the later rounds to earn the victory and retain his WBC belt.
Foster left things late as he scored knockdown in the last minute of the 12th round which was enough for him to get the nod on two of the judges’ scorecards.
It seemed as if Foster injured his right bicep in the fifth round after an accidental clash with Nova’s elbow but was still able to see out a hard-worked victory.
The final scorecards were 115-112, 116-111 in favour of Foster, with the third judge scoring it 114-113 to Nova.
Texan Foster was the favourite going into the fight, but Nova gave a proud account of himself, making the champion work hard to win the fight with a courageous effort until the final bell.
Nova had a lot of early success with is jab and prevented switch-hitter Foster from finding his rhythm in the opening rounds. The challenger pressured Foster and landed more meaningful shots when he closed the distance.
In the fourth round Nova was landing flush straight rights after Foster switched to a southpaw stance. He increased the tempo to follow up his attack, pushing Foster back to the ropes.
Nova continued to apply pressure after his success with everything set up behind his jab, targeting the head and body as he landed combinations.
In the fifth Nova’s work rate began to drop after his motivated start, this allowed the champion to start to find his range and time his shots better.
Foster started to land clean straight shots of his own in the sixth round and upped the tempo, countering well as Nova looked to land hooks.
The champion continued to pick up the pace throughout the next rounds and although Nova was looking to reply, the better shots were landing from Foster as he was taking control of the rounds.
Puerto Rico born Nova started the ninth round with a good flurry, looking to apply pressure, but the champion showed his class and continued to land quality combinations.
In the tenth it was very noticeable that Foster was struggling with his right bicep, shaking his arm out hoping to ease the pain.
The American left it incredibly late to make sure of the victory when he landed a left hook flush on Nova’s temple with 20 seconds left on the clock that dropped him to the canvas and helped make sure of the win.
Foster is developing a habit of leaving things late, winning his last fight by TKO with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock.
Nova beat the count and Foster finished the round strong. Both men raised their arms at the final bell, but with Foster’s late dominance and knockdown, it was beyond doubt he would retain his title.
After an action-packed fight and a valiant effort from Nova, two of the three judges agreed Foster had done to have his hand raised, taking his record to 22-2 (12 KOs).
Fight reaction
After the fight Foster said: “He came on strong at the beginning, but I found my rhythm and his timing, then I started to pick him off.
“My rhythm was off tonight, but we came home with the win so I can’t complain.”
When asked about the injury, Foster replied: “I don’t want to make excuses, but when I went to throw a right hand, his elbow hit my bicep so it kind of tightened my stuff up.”
What next for Foster?
Foster was quick to announce his intentions after of a unification fight at junior-lightweight, before moving up to lightweight.
“I’ll be eventually going up to 135, but I’m going to try to get a couple more fights at 130. I’ll take the winner of Oscar Valdez and Liam Wilson.
“I know [Emanuel] Navarrete is going up to 135, but if he comes back down, I’m willing for that, as well.”
Undercard
On the undercard Andres Cortes, 26, became WBO inter-continental featherweight champion, stopping Bryan Chavalier, 29, in the fourth round to maintain his perfect record and move to 21-0 (12 KOs).
After hurting Chavalier in the fourth, Cortes continued his onslaught with a barrage of heavy punches looking to finish off the Puerto Rican.
Chavalier’s corner saw enough punishment had been taken and threw in the towel to stop the fight.
Featherweight prospect Bruce Carrington, 26, improved his perfect record to 11-0 (7 KOs) after he knocked out Bernard Angelo Torres, 27, in the fourth round to win the vacant IBF and WBO inter-continental title.
Torres started well and his southpaw stance and fast hand speed was causing Carrington problem in the opening rounds.
However, Carrington found his range in the fourth round and was putting more power behind his shots, closing the distance between him and Torres.
The American was able to land a quality right hand that Torres knew nothing about, and the Norway native was unable to beat the count.