Shakur Stevenson gave up the title when he missed weight before his scheduled defense vs Robson Conceicao last year. While Foster is no Stevenson, he is a solid veteran that will now be a factor in a division that currently lacks a dominant figure.
Foster kept the taller Vargas from establishing his jab and in handing Vargas his first career setback, Foster never allowed Vargas to frustrate him with his awkward style as Vargas had done with his other opponents and Vargas could rarely mount enough offense other than a few of the middle rounds.
Foster won on my card 117-111 and while the official margin varied (119-109, 117-111, and 116-112), there was little doubt that Vargas was outpointed.
While the fight was far from memorable for its action, Foster now joins Emanuel Navarrete (WBO), Shavkat Rakhimov (IBF), and Hector Luis Garcia (WBA) as champions that have various questions to answer as they attempt to establish themselves as the best of the division.
As for Vargas, he'll return to the featherweight division and his WBC title as he will await a mandatory defense against the winner of the Brandon Figueroa-Mark Magsayo in March.
The co-main event was a total mismatch as Mario Barrios dominated every round in stopped Jovanie Santiago in the eighth round.
Santiago wasn't knocked down until the eighth but took a steady battering and never remotely threatened Barrios at all.
The less said about this the better as Barrios will likely pair against someone else in an eliminator while Santiago should return to a role against prospects and fringe contenders as he is badly overmatched against top-caliber opponents.
Boxing Challenge
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