Foster Vs Nova at Madison Square Garden

World Boxing Council super featherweight world champion O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster aims to keep the flow of momentum surging.

Foster, the proud fighter from Orange, Texas, will make his second world title defense against Abraham “El Super” Nova on Friday, February 16 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Foster (21-2, 10 KOs) is undefeated in 11 fights since a split decision loss to Rolando Chinea in July 2016. He returned to the ring in December 2017 with renewed purpose and with decorated trainer Bobby Benton in the corner of the. Since moving to Houston to train with Benton, Foster has fulfilled the promise he showed during a 100-plus fight amateur career that included a PAL national title in 2010 and an alternate spot on the US Olympic team in 2012.

He won the WBC world title in February with a one-sided decision over Mexican standout Rey Vargas. Eight months later, he defended his title with a 12th round knockout of Eduardo “Rocky” Hernández. Hernandez had a considerable lead on two of the judges’ scorecards at the time of the arrest. In November, Foster signed a long-term promotional pact with Top Rank.

Nova (23-1, 16 KOs), born in Puerto Rico and raised in Albany, New York, had nearly 200 fights during a storied amateur career that included victories over Frank Martin, Richardson Hitchins and Nahir Albright. Nova signed a co-promotion pact with Top Rank in early 2020 after spending the beginning of his career scoring wins in Belgium, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and at club shows in the northeastern United States.

In June 2022, he suffered the only setback of his career, a one-punch knockout at the hands of prominent Cuban Robeisy Ramírez. Following this, Nova returned to super featherweight and scored victories over veteran Adam Lopez and former world champion Jonathan Romero.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Murphys Boxing and 12 Rounds Promotion, Foster-Nova will air live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.