O’Shaquie Foster looks to ‘Shock’ the world on Showtime

O’Shaquie Foster faces Rey Vargas for the vacant super featherweight title on Saturday live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.

On Saturday night, an under-the-radar but intriguing fight will occur for the vacant WBC super featherweight title live on Showtime. O’Shaquie Foster (19-2) will finally get the opportunity he has been patiently waiting for as he faces former two-division champion and undefeated fighter Rey Vargas (36-0) live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.

A few years ago, Foster was part of the conversation amongst purists, and it seemed like his opportunity for a title shot or a fight against a big name was in play, but he ran into some issues outside of the ring. While he had business disagreements with his promoter Dibella Entertainment, he fought only once in 2020. He didn’t return until last year after cutting ties with his promoter and signing with Probellum. Although things finally seemed as if they were back on track, his promoter had issues finding other promotional dance partners to deal with this time. At this point, it appeared Foster couldn’t catch a break.

He was finally able to get a fight in March, where he dominated Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (19-1) on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Foster stayed in the gym to be ready for that call when it came, but it didn’t. Foster told FanSided, “I have just been training. I thought we were going to go in the summer or November, but things just didn’t work out. I’ve really just been locked in spending the whole year training. Honestly, I have just been in the gym working.” It doesn’t surprise me that he said that as the 29-year-old is mature for his age and takes his career seriously. With everything that has happened, it’s easy to look at things as a glass half empty, but he chooses to see it as half full. “I think it’s the right time. Of course, I would have wanted it sooner, but I feel like it’s the perfect time. I’m ready mentally and physically,” said the Texas native.

O’Shaquie Foster vs. Rey Vargas can be streamed live on the Showtime App

https://twitter.com/ShowtimeBoxing/status/1621914380257607680?s=20&t=liK0lQ-D_CbX1OcZYVUEuQ

Preparing for this fight against Vargas required Foster to have his training camp through the holidays. It takes a ton of discipline to make it through that without adding on a few extra pounds around the waist. But Foster kept it light and said, “It was cool. I went to go see the family, and we had a good time, but I don’t really put too much into it. I know how to block them kinda things out now and stay focused on what I need to do.”

The preparation for a fighter like Vargas is slightly different than against most at super featherweight. Vargas is 5’7” and has a 70” inch reach which is freakish for that weight class. Also, Vargas likes to use those long arms to his advantage to hold his opponents and impose his size on them. So how does Foster prepare for Vargas? Foster told FanSided, “I see what he brings to the table. I have to take advantage of the things he tries to do, like the holding. I’ve always been good on the inside and good with tying people’s hands. I feel like I’ll be ready for it when it comes.”

Although Foster is from Texas, he’s about three and a half hours west of his hometown, so there may or may not be as many fans there to support him as there will be for Vargas. “I feel like there’s going to be a few people in there. I don’t really pay too much attention to the crowd. I definitely feel like we are going to have some fans in there. I’m used to fighting in hostile territories and in people’s backyards, so I’m ready for it whichever way it turns out.”

While Foster is generally in good spirits before the fight, he will lock in come fight night and show why he was put in the position to fight for a title. So what should we expect from Foster on fight night, and what message does he have for his followers?

“It’s going to be a beautiful night of boxing. I want to show my all-around ability and things people haven’t seen. Foster continued, “I appreciate everyone that supported me from the beginning and everyone that came along. Thank you for staying down, and we are going up. I train hard and want to please ya. I want to show ya that ya wasn’t wrong, and we are going to put the world on notice.”