IN a perfect world, Raymond Ford would be fighting O’Shaquie Foster on August 16 but, instead, the former world champion has been left waiting in the wings.
Foster, 23-3 (12 KOs), was supposed to defend his WBC world super-featherweight title against Stephen Fulton, the green and gold belt holder at 126lbs, next Saturday.
The pair, it seemed, were set to collide on the undercard of Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr’s scheduled rematch which, of course, is no longer happening.
But while Foster has seemingly been left without a fight date, Ford, 17-1-1 (8 KOs), insists that he was more than eager to face the 31-year-old in nine days’ time.
And yet, despite offering to save the day, it would appear that Ford’s efforts to entice his domestic rival into accepting their matchup have fallen on deaf ears.
“First, he’s got to drop his nuts and be a man,” said ‘Savage’, when asked by Boxing News what needs to happen for the Foster fight to get made.
“We could get my promoter [Matchroom] to talk to his promoter [Top Rank], or get Turki Alalshikh involved, but I don’t think he’s in any rush to fight me.
“I don’t think they [Foster and Fulton] are even going to fight, either, but that’s up to them. He [Foster] has locked himself into a contract, or whatever, but he could’ve been fighting me on the same day that he and Stephen Fulton were supposed to be fighting.”
While Foster remains an elusive target, perhaps even more so outside the ring, Ford has set his sights on a former opponent of ‘Ice Water’.
He was, as it happens, supposed to be facing Anthony Cacace on August 16, but, with the Irishman suffering a back injury, sturdy contender Abraham Nova has since emerged as a solid replacement.
The two Americans will feature on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Ford hopes to produce a particularly captivating performance.
Only then, he says, will the paying public begin to pile the pressure on Foster, who, among the world champions at 130lbs, represents the 26-year-old’s preferred option.
“I believe that I can make a big statement [against Nova], and it’s only going to make the fans push for the O’Shaquie fight even more,” the former WBA world featherweight champion said.
“But at the same time, if I make a big statement against a former opponent of his, who he struggled with, then that could make him run even more.”
Nova, to his credit, gave a titanic effort before dropping a tightly contested split decision to Foster in February of last year.
Ford, meanwhile, has amassed two comfortable victories since his split decision defeat to Nick Ball, which followed a stunning 12th-round finish over Otabek Kholmatov.
