O’Shaquie Foster’s world title loss to Robson Conceicao in 2024 could potentially become the most controversial fight to remember.
In an astonishing turn of events, Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) lost his third defense of the WBC super-featherweight title by split decision. Judges Anthony Lundy and Paul Wallace scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113 respectively, in favor of Conceicao. However, the third judge, Ron McNair, saw it differently, with a score of 116-112 in favor of Foster.
Both men failed to deliver a strong offense, leaving Foster unbothered by any attacks from his Brazilian opponent, who clearly lacked the skills of a world title contender. Despite this, Foster managed to secure his victory and claim the world champion title in the 130lbs category, making it his fourth attempt. He now heads back to Brazil as the reigning champion.
Foster emerged as the superior fighter, displaying a noticeably calm and composed demeanor in the ring. Although his occasional strikes were attention-grabbing, they were unfortunately infrequent. On the other hand, Conceicao managed to capture the judge’s notice with sporadic bursts of shots starting from the fourth round. However, none of his attacks managed to disrupt or harm the reigning champion.
The audience at the Prudential Centre expressed their dissatisfaction starting from the fourth round, and they were completely justified in doing so, given the lackluster performance in the main supporting event before Shakur Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title defense against Artem Harutyunyan. The ironic cheers that accompanied the final bell, indicating the conclusion of the match, brought immense joy to the spectators who had paid to attend.
Although the incidents in the ring should not be discussed further, the perplexing decisions on two out of the three scorecards will puzzle fans for years to come. Was Conceicao deserving of victory? Definitely not. Did Foster do enough to keep his title? Absolutely. He will undoubtedly regret not asserting dominance over an opponent who seemed to run out of strategies early in the match.
I hope there isn’t a rematch clause.
