Ring City Hollywood Debut Sees Foster KO Roman

Eleven months after winning the WBC Silver super featherweight title, O’Shaquie Foster got a chance to defend it and won emphatically by knockout over Mexico’s super tough Mickey Roman on Thursday.

Foster also showed he can fight inside as well as outside.

It was the television debut of Ring City USA and Foster (18-2, 11 KOs) made a big splash by defeating Roman (62-14, 47 KOs) in front of no fans in the parking lot of the famous Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, CA. The fight card was shown all over the USA and Mexico.

Foster, 27, who fights out of Houston, Texas, used his height and speed to jump out in front and floored the fast-charging Roman with a right cross in the opening round. The delayed reaction saw Mexico’s Roman drop to a knee and take a count.

It didn’t look good for the 35-year-old native of Juarez, Mexico but he used his experience to survive the round.

Foster could have boxed and moved for the entire fight but offered to fight inside against the more experienced Roman. He basically out-fought the shorter Mexican and nullified his power effectively.

Around the fourth round Foster began holding Roman and was warned by the referee. Though the Mexican fighter landed some solid body shots it was not enough to offset the combination punching of Foster.

Roman had his best round in the fifth as he pounded the body relentlessly. Foster attempted to hold again but was warned by the referee to refrain from using the illegal tactic. Instead, Foster effectively used angles to escape Roman’s attacks.

The next several rounds were somewhat close but Foster never seemed to lose control and kept Roman from overwhelming him. When necessary the taller Foster moved side to side to keep Roman guessing.

Perhaps knowing he needed a knockout, Roman increased the pressure and did not see the sneaky left hook by Foster in the ninth round and down he went. Though the Mexican fighter beat the count he looked out of sorts. Foster unleashed a flurry of blows that Roman seemed to evade but referee Jack Reiss did not like the Mexican fighter’s reactions and stopped the fight at 58 seconds of round nine.

Foster retained the WBC Silver title by knockout.

“I would love to have the winner of (Miguel) Berchelt and (Oscar) Valdez,” said Foster.

Other Results

Mexico City’s William Zepeda (22-0, 20 KOs) used his southpaw stance and nonstop attack to overwhelm Tijuana’s Roberto Ramirez (23-3-1, 16 KOs) and win by stoppage in a lightweight clash.

After a slow start Zepeda turned on the heat in the second round and never let up as he pressured the taller Ramirez with blow after blow. Ramirez never could get his footing against the lefty fighter.

In the fifth round Zepeda ramped up his attack even more and had Ramirez on his heels with solid shots to the head and body. The nonstop battering forced referee Ray Corona to halt the fight at 2:43 of the fifth round. The stoppage gave Zepeda the win by knockout.

Super Feathers

A solar plexus shot by Mexico City’s Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (30-1, 27 KOs) ended the night for Eduardo Garza of Texas by knockout in a super featherweight match.

Though uppercuts were the favorite flavor of the night for Hernandez, it was a left hook to the stomach that sent Garza to the floor and he could not get up. He was counted out at 2:37 of the third round.

Ironically the third round was the best round for Garza who connected with his own right uppercut that sent Hernandez’s gum shield flying across the ring. But it wasn’t enough to slow down Mexico City’s “Rocky” Hernandez who won by knockout for his second consecutive win by stoppage.

Photo credit: Tom Hogan / Ring City

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