Oscar Valdez says that is the “largest battle of his life” in his rematch in opposition to WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete this Saturday night time, December seventh.
(Credit score: Prime Rank)
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) was not aggressive, dropping a 12-round unanimous determination to Navarrete a 12 months in the past on August twelfth. The previous two-division world champion Valdez fought in addition to he may, however his punches didn’t have an effect on ‘El Vaquero’ Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs).
The co-feature between WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza and Robeisy Ramirez 2 ought to arguably be the primary occasion as a result of their first battle on December 9, 2023, a 12 months in the past, was one of the thrilling of the 12 months.
Espinoza, 6’1″, pulled off an enormous upset, beating the two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy by a 12-round majority determination to dethrone him of his WBO 126-lb belt. He did job of getting off the deck within the fifth spherical to return again to put on down Robeisy and drop him within the twelfth to get the win.
Robeisy mentioned within the build-up to this battle that he wasn’t at his greatest, however we’ll see if that’s legitimate. If he wins this battle and appears spectacular, you’d have to purchase his excuse about not being 100% final time.
Saturday’s Navarrete-Valdez 2 rematch will happen on the Footprint Heart in Phoenix, Arizona. The occasion begins at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN & ESPN+.
“I really feel like I can do much more within the sport. After I misplaced, I went again residence. I used to be disillusioned by my efficiency,” mentioned Oscar Valdez. “It’s not like different sports activities the place you possibly can lose and you are able to do higher within the subsequent season. In boxing, most individuals don’t wish to see you once more after a few losses. So, doing that battle was essential for me. That is the largest battle of my life.”
Valdez doesn’t say if he’ll retire if he loses to Navarrete or not. There’s no purpose to as a result of he would have likelihood of beating a number of the different champions within the 126-lb division. It’s asking loads of Valdez to be going up in opposition to a man as large as Navarrete as a result of he doesn’t have the dimensions, energy, or quantity to match him.
“Now, he’s coming with a distinct methodology. Within the first battle, I feel it helped each of us to regulate particulars. Now, we’re right here using the instruments we extracted from the primary battle. This battle, we’re going to have extra expertise and the identical coronary heart,” mentioned Emanuel Navarrete.
ESPN+ Undercard at 5:30 p.m. ET
- Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs): Mild welterweight conflict scheduled for ten rounds
- Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) vs. Issac Muñoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs): Heavyweight battle for eight rounds.
- Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) vs. Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs): Welterweight contest scheduled for ten rounds.
