O'Shaquie Foster Pertahankan Gelar Lawan Raymond Ford di Houston

Juara dunia tinju kelas super bulu WBC, O'Shaquie Foster, dijadwalkan mempertahankan sabuk energinya melawan mantan juara kelas bulu WBA, Raymond Ford, dalam pertarungan 12 ronde di Fertitta Center, Universitas Houston, Amerika Serikat, pada Sabtu, 30 Mei 2026.

Pertarungan utama yang disiarkan secara eksklusif melalui layanan streaming DAZN ini dilatarbelakangi oleh rivalitas panas dan adu mulut antara kedua petinju selama masa promosi.

Foster yang memiliki rekor 24-3 dengan 12 KO menegaskan bahwa duel ini merupakan pertarungan pilihan bebas dan dirinya sama sekali tidak dipaksa untuk menghadapi Ford yang menempati peringkat dua WBC.

"I’m just ready to shut little dude up," kata O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC kepada The Ring.

Foster menambahkan bahwa pernyataan yang dilontarkan Ford selama promosi sama sekali tidak masuk akal sehingga ia berniat membungkam lawan serta memberi pelajaran tentang kerendahan hati.

"He makes no sense. It’s time to shut him up and humble him, put him back down to where he need to be," ujar O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Foster menilai tuduhan bahwa dirinya menghindari Ford pada musim panas lalu adalah keliru, karena pihak Matchroom Boxing baru menghubunginya tiga minggu sebelum jadwal pertarungan di Arab Saudi, sementara persiapan melawan petinju kidal membutuhkan perubahan pola latihan tanding yang matang.

"I don’t know, I’m starting to think he don’t got it all," kata O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Menurut Foster, promotor Eddie Hearn bahkan telah meluruskan situasi tersebut di atas panggung konferensi pers dan membenarkan posisi sang juara bertahan.

"As a matter of fact, because even his promoter [Eddie Hearn] told him on stage at the press conference that [I’m] right, that [I] didn’t have to take this fight. So, I don’t get where he be coming from, with the stuff he be saying. It literally makes no sense, but I think he got a key in his back, so he trying to find any way to make it seem like I been ducking him, to push a narrative or whatever. But it just don’t make no sense. Nobody sees it," ujar O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Foster juga menyoroti perbedaan durasi tawaran kontrak yang diberikan kepadanya dengan petinju lain bernama Abraham Nova saat bertarung di Riyadh.

"They said I ducked him in August when he fought [Abraham] Nova," kata O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Ia menganggap jeda waktu yang sangat sempit tersebut sebagai indikasi bahwa kubu penantang tidak percaya diri dan hanya ingin memanfaatkan situasi pemusatan latihan yang pendek.

"but they called me three weeks ahead and they’re saying they called Nova five weeks ahead. So, it just don’t make no sense. I don’t get it," ujar O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Sebelum kesepakatan ini terjadi, Foster telah menandatangani kontrak untuk menghadapi Stephen Fulton, namun rencana tersebut tertunda beberapa kali karena kendala pada partai utama lainnya.

"If I got a contract that’s signed for a fight already," kata O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Foster menjelaskan lebih lanjut bahwa perubahan taktik dari menghadapi petinju ortodoks seperti Fulton menjadi petinju kidal seperti Ford memerlukan penyesuaian jadwal sparring yang tidak mungkin diselesaikan dalam waktu dua minggu.

"and that fight falls through as far as the main event, not me and that fighter because me and Fulton didn’t get hurt, of course the date is gonna get moved back a little bit. But y’all called the champion three weeks ahead of time to come to Saudi Arabia to fight you – it just showed that you’re not serious. First off, you’re not confident in catching me at my full potential. You were trying to catch me when I had a short camp or something," ujar O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Dirinya berkeyakinan penuh bahwa manajemen lawan sengaja mencari momentum saat kondisi fisiknya tidak berada dalam tingkat kesiapan tertinggi.

"Because I’m fighting Fulton and he’s orthodox, so why would I take a fight with you, when you’re a southpaw? I would have to switch up my whole sparring [schedule] and that would only give me two weeks to spar and get prepared. I think they was trying to catch me when I didn’t have as much time to get ready. … His team is not as confident as they’re trying to make it seem and they was trying to catch me at a bad time, basically. That’s it," kata O'Shaquie Foster, Juara Dunia Kelas Super Bulu WBC.

Di sisi lain, Raymond Ford yang memiliki rekor bertanding 18-1-1 dengan 9 KO meremehkan rekam jejak karier profesional Foster dan menilainya hanya memanfaatkan nama besar Shakur Stevenson demi mendongkrak popularitas.

"I really don’t care what he said [about Stevenson] or what he think. Everybody got they wishes, and they can plan it however they want to plan it, but he’s still gotta deal with me. All that – if you can’t deal with me, you can’t get to what you wanna get to. All that’s irrelevant. He really just keeps bringing up Shakur’s name to build his fame and get eyes on him ‘cause that’s the only time people gonna mention him or talk about him. They don’t talk about him. Nobody’s dying to see O’Shaquie Foster, so he gotta somehow make his name popular. He been pro since 2012; he just now starting to get some shine. He’s a hater – that’s all," ujar Raymond Ford, Penantang Kelas Super Bulu WBC dilansir dari Boxingscene.

Siaran langsung pertandingan ini akan dimulai pada pukul 20.00 waktu setempat, dengan menyajikan sejumlah partai tambahan sebelum laga utama Foster melawan Ford dimulai.