Even before Janibek Alimkhanuly-Erislandy Lara was cancelled on account of Janibek testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, the contest between O’Shaquie Foster and Stephen Fulton was the most appealing on Premier Boxing Champions’ very appealing bill.
Theirs is a very interesting match-up. Even with Fulton moving into his third weight division and jumping straight into a fight with one of the champions at the top of the picture at 130lbs, Foster has shown himself to be vulnerable enough that it ought to be considered a 50-50.
Fulton was undeservedly written off after losing to Naoya Inoue in 2023. He looked phenomenal until then, and was expected by many – myself included – to be very competitive against Inoue, who proceeded to outbox and then stop him, to the extent that observers either realised how very, very good Inoue is, or concluded that Fulton was simply never that great.
He then produced a boxing masterclass to defeat Brandon Figueroa at 126lbs on an evening I and many others expected him to lose. If he can produce that kind of performance against Foster he can win and impress again – not least because he’s improved since recruiting the in-demand Derek “Bozy” Ennis, a great coach, to guide him, and because after an understandable delay he appears to have fully recovered from losing to Inoue in the way that he did.
Foster, for all of the abilities that I admire, can be inconsistent. He’s had to recover from falling behind to record late stoppages – which he’s succeeded in doing – and he’s also controlled opponents as a counter-punching boxer-puncher from the opening bell. He, similarly, has a habit of only narrowly winning rounds and therefore leaving doubt in the minds of the scoring judges.
Even with Fulton coming in overweight at 132lbs I expect Foster – who’s huge at 130lbs – to have a noticeable size difference. If they match wits and boxing skill, I favour Fulton. But if Foster can impose his physicality and make it a rough fight, I’d favour him. I fully expect it to be won by whoever succeeds in executing their game plan.
Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach – a fight between two fighters best known for being opponents of Gervonta “Tank” Davis, which says so much about Davis’ profile – at 140lbs is similarly intriguing. The fact that they were both chasing rematches with Davis and then saw him instead agree to fight Jake Paul also means that this is a match-up that makes a lot of sense.
The short, stocky, durable, heavy-handed Cruz will relentlessly seek to come forward, stay in the pocket, and attack Roach – he is exactly the nature of fighter Mexicans appreciate. Roach is every bit as much the classic east-coast fighter – he is a boxer-puncher who seeks to use his jab and footwork to counter, hit, and not get hit by making opponents miss.
As with Foster-Fulton, both possess the style to conquer the other. The winner will be determined by territory – whether they mostly fight on the inside, as would suit Cruz, or on the outside, for Roach – and pace. Cruz will favour chaos; Roach would seek to slow the fight down to use his vision and boxing IQ to set traps. The reality that neither are natural junior welterweights means size is unlikely to play too big a part in what unfolds – Cruz may be the more physical fighter, but the taller, longer Roach has proven to have a strong chin.
Roach has the skills required to tame Cruz but I expect this to go the full 12 rounds, so the question will become whether he has the durability and resilience to resist Cruz’s aggression until the final bell. If he does, he can win convincingly – but if he doesn’t, on the occasion of a fight in San Antonio, Texas, the fans are likely to be vocally behind Cruz, which could sway the judges scoring a close, competitive fight in Cruz’s favour.
Johan Gonzalez, who I’ve previously seen plenty of on ProBox TV, replaced Janibek as Lara’s opponent at middleweight. He’s a solid challenger to Lara – he’s got good stamina and is physically strong, but it won’t be until the fight starts that, as such a late-notice opponent, that we’ll be able to judge the condition he’s in.
It’s such a demanding thing to ask of any athlete, even one already in good shape, to step into a fight at this level with so little true preparation, which means that I expect how it unfolds to be determined by how much Lara has left. If, at 42 years old, he appears to have gotten old overnight, Gonzalez has a shot of victory. If he doesn’t, and he continues to perform as he has, he will win fairly easily – most likely via knockout.
A fight I’m also interested in that appears to be getting overlooked is Jesus Ramos Jnr-Shane Mosley Jnr, at junior middleweight. Mosley Jnr’s moving down in weight; he has power, and he’s still young, fresh and athletic and potentially has the right frame for the weight. Ramos Jnr, regardless, is a very good fighter, and has to be considered the favourite, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Mosley Jnr wins instead.
Another good fight is being staged at 140lbs between Frank Martin and Rances Barthelemy. Barthelemy’s a very good disruptor; he’s disengaging and he can make fights boring. Martin’s very physical – he’s moving up in weight and can be expected to suit the weight – but whether he can overcome Barthelemy’s savvy and experience is in greater doubt. Martin’s youth, technique and physicality are the key to victory – and if he succeeds, I can see him being matched with the winner of Cruz-Roach.
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Janibek’s failed drugs test also requires addressing. Not only have we lost a very good fight, we’ve lost an important fight in the context of the neglected middleweight division. Boxing has a big problem with performance-enhancing drugs, and I’m struggling with what the solution to that problem is.
What’s regularly being overlooked is the reality that fighters are using banned substances during their off-season, even though they can continue to benefit from their previous use when the time comes for a fighter to fight.
