Foster Outboxes Yaqubov, Wins WBC-130 Lbs Eliminator in Dubai

By Carlos Costa

Texas-native O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster (19-2, 11 KO’s) dropped and decisioned Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (18-1, 10 KO’s) of Tajikistan to win the WBC Super Featherweight title Eliminator Friday, March 18, at the Duty-Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, U.A.E..”Ice Water” Foster made good use of his superior boxing skills, effectively counterpunching Yaqubov, rocking him to the mat the 12th chapter to claim triumph by wide scores of 117-110 (twice) and 118-109.At the end of actions, the referee Héctor Afú of Panama raised the hand of O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster, while WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman awarded him with his shinning brand-new WBC belt.

With the victory, the 28-year-old Foster becomes WBC mandatory challenger to the WBC 130-pound crown, which is currently owned by unbeaten Mexican Óscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KO’s).

However, O’Shaquie Foster will have to wait for Óscar Valdez to battle skilled WBO 130- pound King Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KO’s) on April 30 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a tough, hot mission for the popular, coming-forward Sonora slugger.

Tonight’s Foster vs Taqubov in “The City of Gold” was promoted by Richard Schaefer’s Probellum Evolution, live on ESPN Knockout.

The author Carlos Costa can be reached at carlos@philboxing.com