The World Boxing Council (WBC) has been very good to Rey Vargas over the years and on Saturday night inside San Antonio’s Alamodome in Texas, the Mexican tried to claim his third-place belt with sanctioning authority. . Also competing for the vacant WBC super featherweight belt (retired by Shakur Stevenson) will be Houston’s O’Shaquie Foster, a boxer in fine form who placed 5th in the 130lbs.
Vargas promoted from featherweight, where he was the WBC belt holder and world number 3. The 32-year-old also holds the bantamweight super trophy, a title won by defeating Gavin McDonnell at Hull six years ago.
While Vargas’ 36-0 (22) record is impressive, he always has the temperament of an easily defeated fighter, despite being one who always does just enough to avoid losing. Most recently, in July 2022, he proved a bit too seasoned and smart against Mark Magsayo when he won the 126 lbs silver trophy with a well-deserved split after 12 innings. Vargas – who in 2019 tested positive for clenbuterol only to have it ruled by the WBC as accidental ingestion – could be left out of the box and come across as a bit raw in the face of slippery objections, but the important thing is that it always seems to get the job done. So far, despite the belts he’s been collecting, he’s yet to fight anyone considered the best in his weight class.
Foster, 19-2 (11), doesn’t break that routine but he’s a worthy opponent nonetheless. He started boxing at the age of 8 but his hopes of boxing at the 2012 Olympics were dashed by Joseph Diaz, who twice beat him in the US challenges. As a pro, his two losses came in eight innings (in 2015 against Samuel Teah and 2016 against Ronald Chinea) which could have gone either way. Today, Foster insists he was not interested in boxing back then. More matches to be learned would be his 2020 takedown of bony Miguel Roman and most impressively the point-scoring win over Tajikistan’s Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov last March.
Foster, 29, is the archetype of a bad boy turned good. He struggled to concentrate after losing his mother at the age of 12, and in 2017 – a year after his cousin’s death – he was arrested for assault. A spell in the Orange County jail would give him a solid foundation to build from. He left Orange and now lives in Houston. These days, he only occasionally returns to his hometown to visit his family.
“To be a better person, I had to separate myself from the crowd,” explains Foster. “I left my hometown five years ago and only came back to visit my family. I just focus on what I have to do in the future.”
The American is a versatile boxer, one who can hit long distances and hit hard. But he will be cut from his job in the face of the steady but relentless pressure Vargas brings. But calling Mexicans ‘punchers’ may not be quite right; he hasn’t won on the schedule since 2016 and much of his efficiency comes from his dependable engine. The hope for Vargas, who insists he is working to hit with greater strength, is that victory will lead to a showdown with compatriot Leo Santa Cruz.
“My strength will definitely translate into 130 pounds,” Vargas said. “I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. The work that I have given my full potential during training will definitely benefit me.
“The Leo Santa Cruz fight is definitely something we’ve been keeping an eye on for years. There are a number of obstacles that arise, and that is when this opportunity presents itself. I’m always up for new and exciting challenges and this is definitely one of them. I think this is going to be a good fight like the one in Santa Cruz.
This will be Vargas’ second consecutive appearance at the Alamodome, the venue where he overtook Magsayo last year.
“We are returning to a place where I have really good memories and I am ready to do it again,” he said. “I know it’s a new weight class but I don’t feel uncomfortable at all. I want to make history and do something that I will remember for the rest of my career.
“I’ve battled all sorts of styles, so nothing really surprises me. I had a hunch that Foster would come forward and rampage. If he fights me tactically, then I’ll be ready for that too.”
Foster, armed with a 72-inch lever, might be completely wrong for Vargas but will that be enough to beat a boxer who always finds a way to win at this level, Is this worth your attention? Purely because he’s been operating at a higher level for a longer period of time, Vargas was the pick for the points after 12 rounds but Foster is the underdog this round.
