O’Shaquie Foster to face Abraham Nova; Adrian Curiel-Sivenathi Nontshinga II

news7g02/13/2024

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Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

February 12, 2024 3:09 pm ET

FIGHT WEEK

Date: Friday, Feb. 16
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Madison Square Garden Theater, New York
TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
Division: Junior lightweight (130 pounds)
At stake: Foster’s WBC title
Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Foster 8-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Significance (up to five stars): ***
Also on the card: Andres Cortes vs. Bryan Chevalier, junior lightweights; Bruce Carrington vs. Bernard Torres, featherweights
Background: Foster will be making the second defense of the title he won as a result of his break-through unanimous decision victory over Rey Vargas in February of last year. He barely held onto his belt in his first defense. The 30-year-old Texan, showing his gritty side, was behind on two of the three official cards when he stopped Eduardo Hernandez in the final round of a wild fight in Hernandez’s home country of Mexico. Nova will be fighting for a major title for the first time. The 30-year-old Puerto Rican boxer-puncher, who lives in Albany, New York, has won two consecutive fights since he was stopped by two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez in the fifth round in 2022. He defeated capable Adam Lopez by a unanimous decision in January of last year and stopped less-accomplished Jonathan Romero in three rounds in July. Nova is ranked No. 12 by the WBC.

Date: Friday, Feb. 16
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Guelaguetza Auditorium, Oaxaca, Mexico
TV/Stream: DAZN
Division: Junior flyweight (108 pounds)
At stake: Curiel’s IBF title
Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Curiel 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Significance (up to five stars): ***
Also on the card: Mauricio Lara vs. Daniel Lugo, featherweights
Background: Curiel and Nontshinga will be fighting for the second time in three-plus months. Curiel, a 25-year-old from Mexico City, stunned Nontshinga and the boxing world when he stopped the favored South African with a single overhand right in the second round to win his first world title on Nov. 4 in Monte Carlo. Curiel was a question mark going into that fight. He had never faced an elite opponent or fought outside of Mexico, although he is now undefeated since 2021. He’s 8-0-1 in his last nine fights. And, curiously, Curiel showed no signs of having one-punch knockout power: He had only four stoppages going into that fight. Nontshinga, 25, made a big splash when he defeated Hector Flores by a split decision in a brutal fight to win the IBF belt in Flores’ native Mexico. He had a successful homecoming in July, easily outpointing previously unbeaten Regie Suganob in East London. And then came the disaster in Europe.