Foster and Ford defeated Abraham Nova on points in bouts that occurred exactly 18 months apart. Though the outcomes were similar, Nova noticed vast differences in them during his 12-round, split-decision defeat to Foster in February 2024 and a unanimous points loss to Ford in a 10-rounder August 16.

Foster, a native of Orange, Texas, is just a slight favorite over Ford, but Nova is confident Foster will “dominate” his brash challenger in a 12-round fight for Foster’s WBC super featherweight title at Fertitta Center in Houston. DAZN will stream Foster-Ford from the campus of the University of Houston (8 p.m. ET; 1 a.m. BST).

“He has no power,” Nova told The Ring regarding Ford. “His IQ is not very high, compared to O’Shaquie, and I wasn’t at my best. So, I feel like O’Shaquie’s gonna run him out the [building]. He’ll win a unanimous decision on skills.

“He’ll have a dominant performance. I feel like O’Shaquie is the stronger, bigger, longer fighter, more experienced. He has been through a lot more adversity than Raymond Ford. The only advantage Raymond Ford could have is he’s younger.”

Ford is 27, five years younger than Foster (24-3, 12 KOs), who is ranked No. 2 among The Ring’s junior lightweight contenders for a vacant championship, four spots atop Ford (18-1-1, 8 KOs). Foster, however, has beaten better opponents overall than the former WBA featherweight champ from Camden, New Jersey.

Nova definitely doesn’t think time was on his side when he fought Ford nine months ago in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Albany, New York native took their fight on short notice once Ford’s original opponent, since-crowned WBA super featherweight champ Anthony Cacace, suffered a back injury.

“I fought both of them at different stages of my career,” Nova said. “You know, when I fought O’Shaquie I did get a good training camp. I got eight weeks to fight him. That’s why I gave him a good, tough fight. When I fought Raymond Ford, I felt I was in control of that fight, even being out of shape. I felt like if I was in shape I could’ve stopped Raymond Ford. That’s my honest opinion – no emotions, no ego, no pride. That’s exactly how I saw the fight.”

Nova was training for one-round bouts in Team Combat League when his handlers were called about facing Ford. He was still competitive versus the left-handed Ford, who won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94.

Nova defeated Foster on one card, 114-113, but lost 116-111 and 115-112 on the other two cards. Foster also dropped Nova during the 12th round.

“I don’t know if Raymond Ford was in top shape or if he took me serious or not,” Nova said. “So, I don’t know if he was gonna show another side of himself. But based on what I know from fighting both of them, my opinion is O’Shaquie Foster is by far the better fighter. I think O’Shaquie Foster has more in his arsenal, more in his toolbox, than Raymond Ford. O’Shaquie Foster is just a way more complete fighter.”