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Add FightsATW on GoogleSAN ANTONIO- At the home of 5-time NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs, the Frost Bank Center hosted one of boxing’s most anticipated fights of 2026. In the biggest fight of his career, O’Shaquie Foster (26-3, 12 KOs) delivered his best performance, winning a wide unanimous decision over Emanuel Navarrete (40-3-1, 33 KOs) and dropping him twice in the final round.
The judges’ scores were 115-111 and 118-108 x 2 for Foster. He now holds the WBO, IBF, WBC, and Ring Magazine titles at junior lightweight.
San Antonio proved once again to be one of the best cities not just in Texas, but in the United States, to showcase boxing. The San Antonio crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of Navarrete and, at times, deafening in its support for the three-division champion. Chants of ‘Vaquero’ engulfed the arena, and the crowd reacted to almost anything Navarrete threw.
The first round was a bit sloppy from both fighters. Navarrete used his jab as a range finder for his leaping left hooks and uppercuts. Foster stayed composed, using his jab and throwing right hands to the body. In the following rounds, Navarrete charged in to attack and, at times, landed single punches on Foster. When Navarrete attacked, Foster slowed the unified champion’s momentum by clinching and pushing him off him. The Orange, Texas, fighter picked his spots, knowing when to attack Navarrete and when to back off, usually landing the more telling blows.
By the seventh round, Navarrete still hadn’t found a consistent, effective attack on Foster. However, the two-time WBC champion landed power punches to the head and body whenever he was first. Foster’s counter uppercuts and inside check hooks were also taking their toll on Navarrete.
Heading into the championship rounds, Foster looked in complete control. Navarrete’s attacks followed the same pattern, letting Foster time him and wait out each burst of energy. At times, it seemed Foster could have turned up the aggression and dropped Navarrete, who looked discouraged and tired.
In the 12th round, the former featherweight champion went for broke and attacked Foster. But Foster was ready. In an exchange, with his back against the ropes, Foster landed a right hook that dropped Navarrete. About a minute later, Navarrete made the same mistake, left himself open in an exchange, and took another right hook from Foster. With two knockdowns in the final round, any doubt about who won was extinguished.
The stakes couldn’t have been higher with four titles up for grabs, possible pound-for-pound consideration, Fighter of the Year honors, and a possible future fight with Vasyl Lomachenko on the line. Before the fight, Foster stated he would dominate Navarrete; he more than lived up to his word.
“I’m going to go in there and control the fight,” Foster stated before the fight. “I’m going to dominate from round one. I saw an interview where he said I like to run and make fights difficult. I’ve never run from anybody. I put punishment and pain on my opponents, too. That night, he’s going to get a boxing lesson. There won’t be any running. It’s going to be a boxing lesson.”
ALBERT ‘CHOP CHOP’ GONZALEZ SHOWED HE IS NEXT UP AT FEATHERWEIGHT, STOPPING EDWARD VAZQUEZ IN TWO ROUNDS
In the night’s co-feature, featherweight prospect and future featherweight title challenger Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez (19-0, 12 KOs) faced Edward Vazquez (20-4, 6 KOs) in the biggest challenge of his career thus far. Living up to his reputation, Gonzalez made quick work of Vazquez and chopped him down over two rounds. After a somewhat feel-out first round, Gonzalez opened the second, landing a right hand that hurt Vazquez. A barrage of punches from the Moreno Valley, California, fighter followed, mixing uppercuts, hooks, and body shots. Pushing his opponent back against the ropes, Gonzalez landed a left hook to Vazquez’s body that sent him to his knees. Vazquez stayed down for the 10-count. The fight ended at the 1:04 mark of the second round.
With the victory, Gonzalez scored his fourth straight knockout and moved into world-title contention. In previous outings, Vazquez showed his durability against Raymond Ford, Rafael Espinoza, and Joe Cordina, making Gonzalez’s two-round demolition that much more impressive. Trained by Robert Garcia, Gonzalez would be a tremendous challenge for any current featherweight titleholder, including Espinoza, Bruce Carrington, and Angelo Leo.
“I’m 24 and I’m in the prime of my career,” stated Gonzalez after the fight. “I’m ready for a world title next week.”
With Gonzalez emerging as the top contender at featherweight and pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue potentially arriving in the division, 2027 should be a year to watch at 126 pounds.
FRANK MARTIN STOPPED TARIK ZAINA IN THE SEVENTH ROUND FOR THE VACANT NABO SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
Opening the main card on DAZN, former lightweight title challenger Frank “The Ghost” Martin (20-1-1, 14 KOs) stepped into the ring against Morocco’s Tarik Zaina (18-4-1, 12 KOs) for the vacant NABO super lightweight title in a 10-round contest. Martin, a southpaw, timed his shots and looked to hurt his opponent with a straight left hand, using a jab to set it up.
The San Antonio crowd in attendance was anything but patient. Any lull or lapse in action drew a loud chorus of boos from the Frost Bank Center. Zaina held his own, landing his share of blows, but ultimately he couldn’t avoid Martin’s most lethal punch. In the seventh round, as the San Antonio crowd grew more restless and showered both fighters with their disapproval, Martin found his mark—a perfectly timed counter straight left hand froze Zaina and sent him to the ropes. Martin immediately pounced on Zaina, dropping him to the canvas.
Zaina beat the count, but only received more punishment for his trouble. The fight was stopped at the 2:38 mark of round seven.
TOP RANK AND DAZN YOUTUBE PRELIM UNDERCARD RESULTS
Before the main broadcast on DAZN, Top Rank and DAZN’s YouTube channels streamed numerous preliminary bouts live. In a scheduled eight-round bout, Washington, D.C.’s Deric “Scooter” Davis (13-0, 10 KOs) took on Uruguay’s Joaquín Silva Faccio (10-2, 4 KOs). The match was the quietest of this portion of the broadcast. Davis demonstrated a clear edge in speed and power, walking down his game opponent round after round. Whenever the 24-year-old Davis attacked the body, he seemed on the verge of stopping his opponent. Davis was dominant, but it felt like he could have gotten the stoppage if he pushed harder. Regardless, all three judges saw the fight for Davis, with scores of 80-72.
Earlier, two hometown San Antonio fighters met as Daniel Cortez III (14-1, 1 NC, 9 KOs) faced Joshua Montoya (8-6-2, 1 KO) in a six-round super bantamweight bout. The fight was intense, with little separating the two fighters. Each fighter threw jabs and counters at a blistering pace. Cortez was the aggressor, pushing forward in each stanza, but Montoya’s faster hands and sharp counters kept the fight close. The judges’ scorecards reflected the fight’s close nature. Cortez won by split decision, with two of the three judges scoring 58-56 in his favor. The final judge scored the fight for Montoya, 58-56.
In a scheduled six-round lightweight contest, Los Angeles native Sammy Contreras (9-0, 3 KOs) battled Mexico’s Oscar Pedroza Padilla (8-2-1, 3 KOs). Contreras, the younger fighter at 22, used his faster hands in the first three rounds to punish Padilla, landing head-and-body combinations. However, in the fourth round, Padilla began to mount his own offense, letting Contreras know the fight wasn’t over.
Padilla had a contingent of fans in attendance who hung on every punch he threw and loudly chanted ‘El Perro’ in the arena, cheering on their fighter. Despite Padilla’s refusal to give up, Contreras remained composed, continuing to bloody and batter Padilla’s face with uppercuts and hooks. When the fight was over, fans in attendance applauded both men’s efforts. The judges awarded Contreras a unanimous decision with three scores of 60-54.
The night’s festivities began with a super welterweight bout between Joseph Almajdi (6-1, 3 KOs) and Miqal Dolphus (6-1-1, 4 KOs). The two went toe-to-toe over six rounds, with momentum shifting back and forth at times from round to round. However, the judges felt Almadji landed the cleaner, more telling blows throughout. All three judges scored all six rounds for the Fort Worth, Texas fighter with scores of 60-54 from each.
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