During a recent appearance on Contained in the Ring, Foster made it plain. “If I can’t get Sha, they know that’s who I would like next,” he said. “I ain’t going to shut up. I ain’t going to stop coming after him until we get within the ring.”
There is no such thing as a doubt he wants the fight. It could be the most important payday of his profession and the form of win that changes his earning power overnight. The query is timing.
Foster is 32. That shouldn’t be old in boxing terms, nevertheless it shouldn’t be early either. If he wants that level of cash and visibility, he has to push hard now. Waiting for the fight to return right down to 130 is unlikely to work.
In December 2025, Foster briefly held the WBC interim lightweight title at 135 kilos after beating Stephen Fulton. That gave him a foothold in a deeper division. He vacated it and returned to super featherweight as a substitute. Staying at 130 keeps him champion. It doesn’t move him closer to Stevenson.
Shakur has moved to 140 and is chasing larger paydays against Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Conor Benn. The chances of him stepping away from those fights to return to 135 for Foster are slim.
If Foster truly wants that fight, the danger now runs upward. Which means moving to 140, where the competition is stronger and the nights are harder.
He keeps calling the name. Ultimately, he can have to chase it right into a weight class that doesn’t forgive mistakes.
Minutes after reiterating his desire for a Stevenson fight, Foster posted on X, “I’m the most effective fighter on this planet!!” Confidence shouldn’t be the problem. If he truly wants the fight he keeps calling for, the following move is a division change.
Moving into the 140-pound field, where Stevenson now operates and where the most important purses are being negotiated, would place Foster in the identical mix. One meaningful win there would do more for his case than a 12 months of callouts at 130.
