O’Shaquie Foster (21-2, 12 KO) retained his world title tonight, seemingly rallying back from a steady and furious attack from “Rocky” Hernandez (34-2, 31 KO) tonight on DAZN to force a 12 round stoppage. This fight started as you might expect, with Foster looking to boxing his way around the ring while Hernandez came forward behind a lot of punches.
Hernandez’s strategy worked really well as he largely overwhelmed Foster’s defense and closed the gap, made it rough, much to Foster’s chagrin. Foster fought well in spots, but was getting outworked in most rounds which appeared to have him down on the scorecards until we reached what would be an amazing Round 11.
The 11th round is probably the Round of the Year frontrunner for me, with tons of back and forth action between the fights. Foster would visibly hurt Hernandez and try to push the advantage to score the stoppage right there. Hernandez, who appeared to be out on his feet at the time, somehow, someway, managed to storm back with an attack of his own while still badly compromised. Watching it live it felt like a Bradley vs Provodnikov moment, and although Hernandez made it to the end of that round he had taken and delivered a lot of punishment.
However in the final round Foster was just the fresher man, and dropped Hernandez twice before unloading more shots that forced the referee to step in to halt the fight at the 2:38 minute mark. Foster was down on two of the three official cards at the time of his stoppage, creating a huge rally win for him.
Foster vs Hernandez highlights
Undercard highlights and results
- Justis Huni (8-0, 4 KO) UD-10 Andrew Tabiti (20-2, 16 KO): Justis Huni kept his perfect record intact as he works his way up the ranks, outpointing Andrew Tabiti over 10 rounds to earn a unanimous decision on scores of 100-90, 98-92, and 98-92. Huni showcased his imposing size and strength on Tabiti early, but as the fight wore on Tabiti found a rhythm to work his counterpunching to ensure he saw the final bell.
- Eduardo Nunez (25-1, 25 KO) TKO-2 Oscar Escandon (27-7, 18 KO): Eduardo Nunez scored a highlight reel stoppage tonight, knocking out Escandon with a sweeping right hook that leveled Escandon in the second round. Escandon made it to his feet but the referee waved off the fight, not liking the look in his eyes.
- Javid Beltran (11-0, 5 KO) TKO-8 Jose Rosas (4-3, 3 KOs): The young Beltran showed some flaws of youth but plenty of promise as he battered Joses Rosas over the duration, ultimately forcing a referee stoppage in the eighth and final round.