Friday night was big in the career of boxer Abraham Nova, who was set to challenge O’Shaquie Foster for the WBC junior lightweight title at Madison Square Garden on ESPN’s Top Rank Boxing. In a pre-fight interview, Nova delivered an all-time great quote during a pre-fight interview.
One of the issues heading into the fight was Nova’s beard. ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna brought the beard up, noting that the New York State Athletic Commission asked Nova to trim his beard and asking what happened.
“You know, they asked me to trim my beard. We told them that it’s something to do with my faith. It’s something I do. My faith is my belief. And, you know, we cleaned it. But we didn’t trim it. We cleaned it. We made it look cute. And we kept it.”
Osuna then followed up with Nova, asking, “If they ask you to do more, what are you gonna do?”
“I’m not gonna do it. It’s against my faith,” he said. As Osuna appeared set to either ask another question or end the interview, Nova kept going.
“It’s against my faith. I can’t do it. It’s something that’s in me. You know, Abraham had a long beard, Jesus had a long beard, Moses had a long beard. All the greats had a long beard. I’ve fought here before with this beard. Why now?”
"Abraham had a long beard, Jesus had a long beard, Moses had a long beard. All the greats had a long beard. I've fought here before with this beard. Why now?"
– Boxer Abraham Nova tells Bernardo Osuna why he will not shave his beard. pic.twitter.com/X75ikuM8iW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 17, 2024
[Photo Credit: ESPN/Top Rank Boxing]
