Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) did just that, as he pulled away in the second half to beat Ford by majority decision and retain his WBC 130-pound title last Saturday at Fertitta Center on the University of Houston campus.

After the decision was announced, Foster went to the ropes in front of where Stevenson was ringside and the two engaged in a heated verbal exchange.

Stevenson, in attendance to support Ford, then stepped into the ring and went face-to-face with Foster before things escalated between them and they were eventually separated by security.

Their rivalry stems from when they sparred more than five years ago. Foster said he got the better of Ring and WBO 140-pound champion Stevenson, who sits No. 3 on The Ring's pound-for-pound list.

"He knows what it is, man," Foster said when asked during the post-fight press conference. "He knows what happened in those sparring sessions. It wasn't just one, it was several, and he knows I'm not lying, I don't tell lies. I would tell y'all if it was a back-and-forth but it was one-sided and he knows that.

"That's why he always getting in his feelings when everybody asking about me, or when I'm calling his name. When we fight, I'm gonna show the world why."

Stevenson's promoter, Antonio Leonard, said he was at those sessions and had a very different perspective from Foster. He believes the WBC 130-pound titleholder doesn't even belong in the same conversation with his fighter.

"I was there, and just like Shakur said, he whooped you every time in sparring," Leonard told The Ring.

"He made you quit. You know it, and I know the truth. You could never, ever in life beat Shakur in a fight or in sparring."

Four-division world champion Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) said in a series of social media posts that he'd be willing to face Foster.

Foster reiterated his willingness to face IBF and WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) in a three-belt unification. If Foster had his choice though, he'd be standing across his old sparring partner.

"We'll see about Navarrete, but y'all know who I want. It's all up to Shakur and them now, he says he's the man ... I told him we could do it at 140, 135, whichever he wants to do. That's a big fight, we can do it right here in Houston [at the] Toyota Center. I feel like the world wants to see it now, so we just gotta wait and see."