O’Shaquie Foster Denies Rey Vargas Another Title; Wins the WBC 130-pound Diadem

SHOWTIME was at the Alamodome in San Antonio tonight with a 7-bout card topped by a battle for the WBC super featherweight title vacated by Shakur Stevenson. Mexico’s Rey Vargas was undefeated (37-0 heading in) and had already won world titles at 122 and 126, but tonight he met his match in O’Shaquie Foster who sprung a mild upset, winning a unanimous decision. The scores were 119-109, 117-111, and 116-112.

The word used to describe Vargas when he was fighting at 122 and 126 was “rangy,” but his physical advantages evaporated at the higher weight class. Foster, who advanced to 20-2 (11) with his tenth straight win, took charge early and finished strong.  Appearing in his eighth world title fight, Vargas was the busier fighter in several of the rounds, but Foster had the speed advantage and landed the cleaner punches.

It’s been a long journey for Texas native Foster, 29, who was an Olympic alternate at age 17 and then spent time in prison before dedicating his life to the sport.

Semi-Windup

Fighting in his hometown, Mario Barrios (27-2, 18 KOs) stanched a two-fight losing streak with an eighth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Jovanie Santiago (14-3-1) in a welterweight contest slated for “10.” The bout was halted at the 1:42 mark of round eight at the request of Santiago’s trainer.

It was the third straight loss for Puerto Rico’s Santiago, 33, who was rucked out of obscurity in February of last year to fight Adrien Broner and gave a good account of himself while coming up short in a bout that could have been fairly called a draw. Barrios was too big and too strong for him and won every round before the stoppage.

Heavyweights

The 10-round ppv opener was an intriguing match-up between two strapping, 30-year-old heavyweights with undefeated records and deep and distinguished amateur pedigrees. Cuban defector Lenier Pero (8-0, 5 KOs) was a 7/5 favorite over Ukraine’s Viktor Faust (11-0, 7 KOs) and Pero brought home the money in weird fashion, scoring an eighth round TKO in a fight in which he was out-boxed in most of the rounds in the eyes of two of the judges and especially those watching at home.

Faust, aka Viktor Vykhryst, exhibited a sturdy chin, but the punch that brought about the sudden conclusion was a right hook to the body that may have cracked a rib. Faust, clearly hurt, turned away from the referee and leaned over the top rope as if he had been fouled and Pero hit him with another punch before the bout was waived off.

It was Pero’s best win on paper but he showed many vulnerabilities.

Prelims

Four bouts aired free on Showtime’s youtube channel. All produced knockouts, leaving host Luke Thomas, working solo, a lot of empty air to fill.

In the final bout of the four-pack, Gonzalo Fuenzalida, a lightweight from Chile, stepped up in class to meet Dominican veteran Claudio Marrero and it proved to be a step too far from him. A southpaw, Marrero scored three knockdowns with vicious left hooks to the body, the last of which crumpled the Chilean at the 43-second mark of round five. The referee didn’t bother to complete his count.

Marrero improved to 27-5 with his 19^th win by knockout. Fuenzalida (12-2) was a willing mixer but was out-gunned

In a contest slated for eight rounds, Filipino middleweight Eumir Felix (4-0, 2 KOs) blew away Argentine invader Ricardo Villalba (20-8-1) in a match that was waived off at the 48-second mark of round two.

A bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, Felix, 27, had Villalba on the canvas in the opening round and again in the second round before the match was stopped. The first knockdown resulted from a hard left to the liver and the second from a short right hand.

In a virtual walkover, Dainer Pero (3-0, 2 KOs) won a 4-round decision over portly Tex-Mex campaigner Daniel Zavala. Built along the same lines as his older brother, Dainer Pero, 23, is looked upon in some quarters as the stronger prospect. The stubborn Zavala (2-2-2) didn’t do much offensively, but earned his pay.

In the first preliminary bout, 17-year-old super welterweight Dave Whitmire made an auspicious pro debut with a first-round stoppage of fellow novice Keith Foreman who was on the canvas twice, compliments of short left hooks, before the referee waived it off at the 2:10 mark. Whitmire is the latest hot prospect from the Washington D.C. area.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE