Fulton-Foster Bout Reconfigured as Interim Lightweight Title Clash After Weight Miss
A highly anticipated matchup between Stephen Fulton Jr. and O’Shaquie Foster will proceed as scheduled on Saturday in San Antonio, but the contest has been dramatically altered, now sanctioned as an interim lightweight title bout.
The shift comes after fulton, moving up from the featherweight division, weighed in at 132 pounds on Friday – two pounds over the 130-pound junior lightweight limit. Initially,it appeared Foster would retain his WBC junior lightweight title regardless of the outcome,with the belt being declared vacant shoudl Fulton emerge victorious. However, the WBC intervened after the weigh-in, reclassifying the fight at a 135-pound interim lightweight title.
This unexpected decision effectively resolves Fulton’s weight issue and provides him with another opportunity to compete for a championship, despite missing weight for Foster’s original title. The victor will promptly become the mandatory challenger for Shakur Stevenson’s WBC title. Stevenson is slated to move up in weight to face Teofimo Lopez for the WBO junior welterweight title on January 31 in New York.
fulton (23-1, 8 kos) secured the WBC featherweight championship in February and opted to challenge Foster directly. The bout faced an initial delay, originally scheduled for the undercard of a Sebastian Fundora versus Keith Thurman event on October 25, before being postponed due to a hand injury sustained by Fundora.
Saturday’s event at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio is also headlined by an interim WBC junior welterweight matchup featuring Isaac Cruz and Lamont Roach jr. Cruz registered 138.6 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in, while Roach weighed in at 139.6 pounds.
Further adding to the evening’s drama, Erislandy Lara will defend his WBA middleweight title against Johan Gonzalez. Gonzalez stepped in on short notice after Janibek Alimkhanuly, the WBO and IBF champion, failed a drug test and was removed from a planned unification bout against Lara. Despite the late notice, Gonzalez successfully made weight at 158.6 pounds, while the 42-year-old Lara came in at 159.6 pounds.
The evolving circumstances surrounding Saturday’s card underscore the unpredictable nature of combat sports and the significant influence of sanctioning bodies in shaping championship contests.
Who: Stephen Fulton Jr. and O’Shaquie Foster were the main event fighters. Isaac Cruz and Lamont Roach Jr. headline the undercard, as does Erislandy lara and Johan Gonzalez.
what: The Fulton-Foster bout was initially a junior lightweight title fight, but became an interim lightweight title fight after Fulton missed weight. Lara is defending his WBA middleweight title, and Cruz and Roach are competing for an interim WBC junior welterweight title.
Why: Fulton missed weight, prompting the WBC to reclassify his fight with Foster. Alimkhanuly’s failed drug test forced a last-minute replacement for Lara’s unification bout.
How did it end?: As of this report, the fights have not yet taken place. The outcomes are currently unknown, but the winners of the Fulton-Foster and Cruz-Roach bouts will become mandatory challengers for their respective division titles. Lara is expected to defend his title against Gonzalez.
