Oscar Valdez says that “the biggest fight of his life” in his rematch with WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete on Saturday night, December 7th.
(Credit: Runk Top)
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) has not been competitive, losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Navarrete a year ago on Aug. 12. Former two-division world champion Valdez fought as hard as he could, but his punches had no effect on “El Vaquero” Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs).
The co-fight between WBO lightweight champion Rafael Espinoza and Robey Ramirez 2 should be the main event, as their first fight on December 9, 2023, a year ago, was one of the most exciting fights of the year.
Espinoza, 6’1″, pulled off a major upset, defeating two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisi by a 12-round majority decision to dethrone him for the WBO 126-lb belt. He did a great job coming off the deck in the fifth to come back to wear down Robisi and drop him in the 12th to take the win.
Robesi said he wasn’t at his best in this fight, but we’ll see if that’s true. If he wins this fight and looks amazing, you have to buy his excuse about not being 100% last time.
The rematch of Navarrete-Valdez 2 will take place on Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The event begins at 10:30 PM on ESPN & ESPN+.
“I feel that I can do more in sports. After losing, I returned home. I was disappointed with my performance,” he said. Oscar Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and do better the next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses. So this fight was very important to me. This is the biggest fight of my life.”
Valdez won’t say if he will retire if he loses to Navarrete. There’s no reason why, because he has a good chance to beat some of the other champions in the 126-pound division. It’s asking a lot of Valdez to go up against a guy like Navarrete because he doesn’t have the size, power or size to match up.
“Now, he comes in a different way. In the first fight, I think it helped both of us match the details. Now, we’re using the tools we got from the first fight here. This fight, we will have more experience and one heart,” he said Emmanuel Navarrete.
ESPN+ Undercard at 5:30 p.m
- Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs): The welterweight bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
- Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) vs. Issac Munoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs): A tough fight for eight rounds.
- Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) vs. Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs): The welterweight bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
