BBC:Stephen Foster Jr loses title defence to Fegatilli

Stephen Foster Jr loses title defence to Fegatilli

Fegatilli was too strong for Foster in Bolton England's Stephen Foster Jr has suffered defeat in his first defence of the European super-featherweight title as Ermano Fegatilli won on points. The judges returned scorecards of 114-110 and 114-109 twice in favour of the Belgian fighter. Foster, 30, started well in Bolton but was knocked down five times before Fegatilli was awarded a unanimous win. "I don't want to make excuses but I got a virus on Monday and it did me in," said Foster told Sky Sports. "I thought to myself, 'yeah, I can do it, I've got a week to recover'. And with the training I did - I didn't want to throw anything away, I just wanted to soldier on." The Salford fighter appeared to be in good shape for the first seven rounds, but the Englishman began to fade as Fegatilli took control, landing damaging body blows with increasing frequency. Fegatilli took the initiative in the ninth, forcing Foster down to the count of eight and, with the champion falling to the ground three times in the tenth round, it was clear that he was on the brink of relinquishing his belt. Foster survived to the last bell but was well beaten in the end as he lost the belt he won with a stunning third round stoppage of Levan Kirakosyan in October.