O’Shaquie Foster lived up to one of his ring monikers and showed ‘Ice Water’ in his veins on the road in his first title defense.

A terrific boxer-puncher matchup took a surprise twist. It was the boxer, Foster, who brought the heat and closed the show, as he twice dropped and eventually stopped Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez to retain his WBC junior lightweight title. Hernandez beat the count on each occasion but was left defenseless as referee Hector Afu stopped the fight at 2:38 of round twelve in their DAZN-aired title fight Saturday evening at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico.

“With the comeback knockout, I rate [the performance] an eight” Foster told DAZN’s Claudia Trejos after the come-from-behind win. “I really wasn’t too satisfied with my performance. But it was a fun fight. I had a lot of fun in there.”

Mexico’s Hernandez was ahead on two of the three scorecards (110-99, 107-102) heading into the final round of their mandatory title fight. However, the top-ranked contender from Mexico City was unable to dethrone the determined visiting champ, who led 106-103 on the third card.

The early rounds played true to the pre-fight scouting report. Foster used constant lateral movement to force Hernandez to follow him around an otherwise tiny ring. Hernandez did not fall for traps and instead picked his shots as he sought the best plan to pin down his mobile foe. A left hook by the first-time title challenger got through along the ropes, though Foster took the shot well.

Foster was twice warned in round three for excessive holding on the inside. The verbal disciplinary action came as the 25-year-old Hernandez effectively cut off the ring after Foster enjoyed success with counter right hands from the outside in the previous round.

Foster sat down more on his punches in round four. His counter right hand was effective against an onrushing Hernandez, who often charged forward head first but not with the same success and also had to deal with a trickling cut just outside his right eyebrow.

Hernandez applied constant pressure in round five. Foster—a 30-year-old switch hitter from Orange, Texas—tightened up his defense and picked off several right hands upstairs and to the body, though the casual view was that he was being outworked at close quarters by the crowd favorite.

Chants of ‘Rocky’ filled the intimate venue throughout round six, particularly as the 25-year-old challenger closed strong in the final seconds. Foster landed a right hook and straight left when he switched to southpaw at the start of the round. Hernandez was unfazed by the punches and continued to charge forward, though he came up short with his power shots.

Foster picked his moments to stand and trade with Hernandez. Both landed right uppercuts during an exchange in round seven, the first time that Hernandez has ever reached that point of any given fight in his boxing lifetime. Foster appeared to get the better of it, though the greater crowd support was afforded to Hernandez. Foster landed pot shots and was able to use subtle movement to minimize the incoming.

Action slowed considerably in round eight. Hernandez loaded up on every punch and often caught air. Foster circled the ring and flicked compact shots, just potent enough to shut down Hernandez’s attack and keep the fight at his desired distance.

Still, it was Hernandez who was well on his way to victory by that point. WBC’s open scoring policy revealed that the fight was even on one card (76-76), while Hernandez won every round (80-72) on the card of Nicolas Hidalgo to that point and through the rest of the fight and was ahead 78-74 on the third card.

Hernandez’s punch output dramatically decreased in round nine. He fought with mouth agape and looked more like a plodder than the effective stalker that made things uncomfortable earlier in the fight. The strategy was by design, however, as his corner suggested he all but take the round off to preserve himself for the later rounds.

It was a calculated risk by his team but appeared to reap dividends in round ten. Foster often found himself pinned against the ropes as Hernandez was far more effective on the inside. Hernandez landed a right hand but Foster responded with a left hook behind his opponent’s high guard.

Foster responded in a big way in what will have to go down as a Round of the Year contender in the eleventh. A right uppercut by the defending titlsit buckled the knees of Hernandez, who barely avoided the canvas but spent the next 30 seconds constantly looking to his corner and seemingly unaware of his surroundings.

That changed midway through the round. A right hand by Hernandez left Foster stunned along the ropes, as the two traded for the balance of the frame.

The momentum shift figured to have favored Hernandez, but it was Foster who closed the fight in true championship fashion.

“I knew we were down,” revealed Bobby Benton, head trainer for Foster as well as WBC junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis. “I didn’t think we were down but we knew we had to knock him out.

“’Shock’ went out there and did it.”

Foster came out for the final round as if he needed a knockout to win. Hernandez boxed as if he just needed to remain upright to win the fight. He couldn’t manage that, as Foster landed a one-two which sent the challenger to the canvas.

Hernandez beat the count and convinced the referee that he could continue. Foster never let him off the hook, as he landed a swarm of power punches in rapid fire succession. A pair of right hands to the temple floored Hernandez with just more than a minute left in the bout.

A final flurry along the ropes caused Hernandez to cover up before he was rescued by the referee.

Hernandez (34-2, 31KOs) snapped a six-right win streak—all by knockout—as he fell short in his first title fight.

Foster advanced to 21-2 (12KOs) with the win, his second of a 2023 campaign that could at least land him in the honorable mention portion of the Fighter of the Year conversation.

He won the WBC title in a twelve-round points win over previously unbeaten Rey Vargas this past February in San Antonio, Texas. Saturday’s late surge saw Foster extended his current twelve-fight win streak after he sputtered out to a 9-2 career start.

Significant lifestyle and training changes have now placed the supremely skilled titleholder among the elite of the 130-pound division.

He would love nothing more than to bring closure to that discussion.

“Cordina,” Foster emphatically stated when asked of his next desired fight.

The callout, of course, was in reference to Joe Cordina (15-0, 9KOs), the unbeaten, two-time IBF titlist from Cardiff, Wales who faces Edward Vazquez next Saturday in Monte Carlo.

“I want the winner of Cordina and Edward. That’s what we should have next. Let’s unify.”

A win by Cordina next weekend would make that a conversation.

Foster has a brief period where he can schedule a voluntary title defense after satisfying his first mandatory obligation. Cordina is without a mandatory challenger, as the IBF has called for a box-off that will likely lead to a title eliminator between Eduardo Nunez—who knocked out Oscar Escandon on Saturday’s undercard—and former titlist Shavkat Rakhimov.

Saturday’s main event came about when Matchroom Boxing won a purse bid hearing to secure promotional rights. Matchroom signed Hernandez and also promotes Cordina. Foster and his team are open to working with the global outfit and are also willing to travel anywhere in the world to collect more titles.

“I’ve shown and proven that I’ll go anywhere,” vowed Foster. “If it’s the U.K., let’s do it. I’ll unify anywhere. The ring don’t change, so let’s do it.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox