Boxing: Foster in line for lucrative fight

Stephen Foster has retained his World Boxing Union featherweight title and stays in contention for lucrative fights later this year in British boxing's most exciting division.

At York Hall in London on Saturday night Foster out-pointed Scotland's John Simpson on the scorecards of all three judges. There is now a plan for Foster, from Salford, to fight the British featherweight champion Andy Morris in Manchester later this year.

Also on Saturday, Sergei Liakhovich of Belarus beat California's Lamon Brewster to win the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title. Last December Russia's 7ft 2in, 25 stone Nikolai Valuev beat Boston's John Ruiz for the World Boxing Association version.

On 22 April in Germany Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine fights Chris Byrd for the International Boxing Federation title. Klitschko is the overwhelming favourite for the fight.

After those fights, America's long dominance of the heavyweight championship could end in June, when the World Boxing Council's champion from Baltimore, Hasim Rahman, defends his title against Kazakhstan's Oleg Maskaev.