Foster Stops Short of Knockout but Beats Navarrete to Unify Junior Lightweight Titles

O'Shaquie Foster put Emanuel Navarrete on the canvas twice in Round 12 and went on to win a unanimous decision Saturday night in San Antonio. The result gives Foster control of the junior lightweight division and the top position in ESPN's divisional rankings.

Foster kept his WBC junior lightweight title and also took Navarrete's WBO and IBF belts. The judges' scorecards read 115-111, 118-108 and 118-108.

In the updated 130-pound rankings, Foster moves ahead of Navarrete into the No. 1 position. Navarrete falls to No. 3.

The same card featured a move up in weight for Frank Martin, who earned a seventh-round TKO over Tarik Zaina. Martin appeared rusty in the early rounds, but he found his opening in Round 7. A left hook sent Zaina stumbling backward, and Martin followed with a three-punch combination that put him down.

Zaina beat the count, but Martin answered with another flurry of punches. Referee Angel Mendez stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 38 seconds. Martin, previously ranked at lightweight, enters the junior welterweight rankings at No. 10.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Dalton Smith held on to the WBC junior welterweight title with a split decision over Alberto Puello in Sheffield, England. Two judges favored Smith 115-113, while the third scored it 116-112 for Puello.

Puello, a two-time junior welterweight champion, threw more punches than Smith but was far less accurate. According to CompuBox, he landed 12% of his punches, compared with 20% for Smith.

It was the first defense of the title for Smith, who won it with a fifth-round TKO of Subriel Matias in January. He stays at No. 3 in the junior welterweight rankings, and Puello remains No. 4.

ESPN's divisional rankings are meant to highlight the best fighters in every weight class and change with recent results and performances. Fighters who have announced a move to a new division are ranked there, if warranted, only after fighting at that weight. Boxers who hold titles in two divisions can be ranked in both.

Fighters who have not competed in the past 12 months and have no bout scheduled are dropped until they fight again. A boxer who tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance is also removed, and becomes eligible to return after his next bout.