O'Shaquie Foster Makes Emanuel Navarrete Unification Demand

Fresh off a big win over Raymond Ford, O'Shaquie Foster knows he has a big fight in his immediate future if he plays his cards right. That includes a potential unification bout with fellow super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete, but Foster is only leaving a narrow window open for that champion vs. champion matchup.

Foster recognizes the magnitude of a fight between him and Navarrete, as the winner would hold three of the four primary belts at 130 pounds. But the fight is only marginally interesting to 'Shock' after he claimed multiple pursuits of the matchup fell apart.

Foster said he would now only be willing to get in the ring with Navarrete if the fight happened "next."

Foster makes Navarrete demand

Emanuel Navarrete | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

"It would have to be next," Foster said, via Ring Magazine. "I've tried to get Navarrete a lot of times now, so the time is now. If we can't make it now, then I don't see the reason to stay around 130 if I can't get the unifications."

Navarrete is the longest-reigning super featherweight world champion, having held the WBO 130-pound title since February 2023, and he is the only titleholder in the division with multiple titles. The 31-year-old is ranked No. 1 in the weight class by Ring Magazine, with Foster right behind him at No. 2.

Following his win over Ford, Foster mentioned Navarrete as a fight he would be willing to pursue next. However, he only mentioned 'Vaquero' as a backup option to the fight he truly wants — Shakur Stevenson.

Foster's threat to leave the division altogether aligns with his quest to fight Stevenson. Ten pounds currently separate the two champions, though Foster has asserted that he is more than willing to move up.

O'Shaquie Foster continues pursuit of Shakur Stevenson

Foster clearly stated his intentions to fight Stevenson next during his fight week with Ford. Stevenson and Ford are notoriously close friends and training partners, which ignited Foster's gripe with both men.

The Foster-Stevenson beef culminated with the two exchanging heated words in the ring after the Texan topped Ford by unanimous decision. Their back-and-forth trash talk ended with their seemingly agreeing to a fight at 140 pounds.

Foster has since claimed that he only fought Ford to get to Stevenson. His plan to agitate the pound-for-pound star by beating his friend while uttering trash talk evidently worked well enough to get Stevenson to at least verbally agree to a fight.

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