HOUSTON, Texas – Raymond Ford’s trainer Tarae Stevenson has played down how “personal” Saturday’s fight with O’Shaquie Foster has become to them – and he also insists that he is unconcerned that his fighter has become emotional on the eve of his biggest fight.
It is at the Fertitta Center in both fighters’ home city that they will contest Foster’s WBC junior-lightweight title. Foster is from Texas and Ford had relocated from New Jersey, but their rivalry has regardless been building for years.
At Thursday’s press conference Ford unexpectedly shoved Foster, in what proved the highest-profile incident of their fight’s build-up.
He and Stevenson have also previously been dismissive of Foster’s abilities, and at Friday’s weigh-in it was tempting to listen to Stevenson and conclude that it is not only personal to Ford but to his trainer as well.
Having watched them both exactly make the 130lbs limit at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in and then on Friday afternoon for promotional purposes Stevenson maintained that he is happy with his fighter’s head space. He sees in Ford “passion”, and not a loss of composure, and believes that he will need that aggression if he is going to apply the game plan he believes required to win Saturday’s fight.
“It ain’t personal – it’s just business,” Stevenson told BoxingScene. “We want the belt, he got it, and unfortunately for him he the guy we got it take it from. I’m not the guy getting in there fighting – it’s all business at the end of the day. We just want the belt ‘cause with the belt comes the money, the fame, and everything else that come with it and that’s what we do it for. Once we knock him off we not gonna see him again so it’s never personal.
“I’d call it ‘passion’. People say he’s emotional; ‘he’s getting out of control’. No. He’s strong; he’s passionate about it, and Saturday night he gon’ put on a show. It’s the best Ray Ford that we gon’ see.
“I love it. That’s the game plan – we gonna come out fighting and make him fight. [Foster] ain’t really built for that; tryna put on a persona; ‘If he get reckless…’; that’s ‘cause he wanna box. That’s what he comfortable at. We gonna come out from round one and make him uncomfortable, and we gonna drown him.
“We wanna get him out of there – it’s no secret, we not planning on going 12 rounds. We gonna beat him up ‘till he quit, the ref stop it or his coach [Bobby Benton] throw the towel in.”
Foster is widely considered to have recorded his finest win via a career-best performance in his past contest, in December, with Stephen Fulton at lightweight.
“He got a good jab,” said Stevenson. “But he needs a good jab to get everything else going. He got heart problems and when you get in there with Ray ‘Savage’, all the skills ain’t gonna matter if you ain’t got this [points at heart]. You can’t teach heart, and I don’t believe he got heart, and come fight night we gonna show the whole world that he ain’t got no heart.
“If you pay attention to the Rocky [Eduardo Hernandez] fight, Rocky got tired, but Rocky started having success and coming forward; [Robson] Conceicao started having success and coming forward; Abraham Nova started having success and coming forward; [Foster] go into defensive mode and his offence slowed down; you could tell, he don’t really wanna be in there. None of them fighters got the type of dog that Ray got, and Ray got the background he got, where he come from, and it’s gonna make a long night for O’Shaquie.
“The best thing he got is a jab. Once we take that away, it’s gonna be an easy night from there. His weakness is definitely his heart. He ain’t a real dog. He pump faking; he clout chasing Shakur [Stevenson]; making up lies; talking he sparring Shakur; ran him out the gym. You ain’t running us from nowhere. Then he said they sparred in ’22, ’23; I moved to Houston in 2020; Shakur haven’t sparred him since I’ve been here. They sparred before I got here, so he not even being authentic, making up stories and lies. I know he ain’t got confidence so he tryna hype himself up for this moment. He ain’t ready for this moment and he gonna find that out come fight night.
“He one of the best [Ford has fought] but I also believe people don’t give [previous opponent Otabek] Kholmatov his credit because he hasn’t fought again yet. Kholmatov got heart; he got pop, and he’s more skilful than a lot of people think and I’d like to see him get in there with another of the top guys.
“Kholmatov was my biggest test [as a trainer] but O’Shaquie got the hype right now. I know Fulton wasn’t in shape; he wasn’t locked in for that fight, and he’s also too small to be fighting at 135. I’m not believing the hype of that last fight; we gonna show the world who O’Shaquie really is.
“We gonna step to him [to take his jab away]. I don’t believe he have nothing on his punches; everyone can punch for the first round or two, but I believe Ray’s stronger; he’s quicker, and we gonna find out come fight night.”
Stevenson, who like Foster’s trainer Bobby Benton also lives in Houston, similarly insists that on Saturday Foster won’t have home advantage.
It is Ford’s long-term promoters Matchroom who are overseeing Saturday’s contest, and who ultimately expect the 5,500-capacity Fertitta to sell out.
“Ray been here about three, four years now,” Stevenson said. “I think Houston likes us more than it likes him if you ask me. The town of Houston don’t know who he is; they know who he is now because he fighting us, but this is more of a home fight for us; it’s not a home fight for him. After Saturday night the whole world gonna know Jersey runs Houston.
“Him just taking this fight is more pressure on him. I don’t think he ever been in there with anyone like Ray – that’s skilful and got the dog with him, so he in for a rude awakening.”
