Foster Jr to make first defence of European crown

Stephen Foster Jr will make the first defence of his European super-featherweight title against Belgium’s Ermanno Fegatelli at Bolton Arena on 26 February after Hatton Promotions submitted the winning purse bid.

Foster, 28-2-1 (18), produced a career-best performance to dethrone the dangerous Levan Kirakosyan in three rounds in October which has since catapulted the Salford man into the world ratings at 10 with the WBC and 11 by the IBF. As Scotland’s Ricky Burns proved in his enthralling WBO super-featherweight title winning upset against Roman Martinez in September, anything is possible for Foster Jr providing he keeps winning.

The 26-year-old Fegatelli has suffered four defeats on his 26-fight record but has come up against some useful operators such as current WBC super-featherweight champion Vitali Tajbert (L pts 8) and is yet to be stopped. With only five stoppages to his name, Fegatelli usually manages to hear the final bell which suggests that Foster could be facing a long and testing night.