Standing at 5 feet and ten-and-a-half inches or 174 centimeters, ‘Ice Water’ stands shorter than his Brazilian opponent, who stands at 5 feet and ten-and-a-half inches or 179 centimeters. But the American world champion seems to enjoy an advantage as far as hand reach goes.

As against ‘Nino’s 70 inches or 178 centimeters, the Texas-born WBC super featherweight title holder’s hand reach read 72 inches or 183 centimeters. Per the available sources, both boxers made it to the 130-pound benchmark during the final weigh-in. While O’Shaquie Foster weighed 129.9 pounds, Robson Conceicao registered a weight of 129.5 pounds.

Interestingly, neither ‘Ice Water’ nor ‘Nino’ put in view a high knockout-to-win rate. O’Shaquie Foster’s record currently reads 22 wins against 2 losses. Out of the total wins, 12 came his way through early stoppage. Thus, it gives him a knockout-to-win rate of around 55%. Robson Conceicao, on the other hand, has participated in 22 fights in his eight-year-old career. He won eighteen and lost two. The remaining two are split between a draw and a no-contest. Given that his victories are divided equally between knockouts and decisions, his knockout-to-win rate stands at a perfect 50%.

Clash Forecast

O’Shaquie Foster, it is worth noting that he has not lost any of his last 13 battles. But the concern here is how he performed against Eduardo Hernandez and then the Nova fight. Reportedly, the Texas-born champion was trailing as far as the scores went. In fact, two of the judges kept the Mexican brawler ahead, 80-72 and 79-73. However, the American thankfully found his way back and knocked down Hernandez not once but twice in the 12th round. So the feat apart, a lot of questions came up about how the ‘Ice Water’ pulled through his first title defense.

Then the fight with Abraham Nova further added to the whispers as the Puerto Rican dragged him right up to the final bell. Foster scored a knockdown in the championship round. However, he could only manage a split division victory, with one of the judges going in favor of Nova 114-113. So putting together his current performances, one might have doubts over how ‘Ice Water would be going against a strong contender like Conceicao.

So is the Brazilian going to finally get lucky after three unsuccessful attempts to become a world champion? After his second career loss to Shakur Stevenson two years ago, the next match remained inconclusive. However, he stood up against BoxRec and ESPN’s number one super featherweight boxer in the world. Two of the judges, in fact, remained neutral and awarded 113-113 to both boxers. Five months later, the 35-year-old from Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil, improved his touch, dispatching the young Mexican Joe Ortiz in the seventh round.

So on paper, it presents a golden opportunity for Robson Conceicao to continue his winning streak against a reigning champion who has been struggling in the last few bouts. But is that enough to rule out Foster quickly? According to boxing writer John McDonald, the American might have -105 odds of winning by a decision.

So overall, fans can look forward to an exciting fight that might offer a full return on their money.

Who is your pick for the win between O’Shaquie Foster and Robson Conceicao?