Oscar Valdez says that this “the biggest fight in his life” in his rematch against WBO light heavyweight champion Emmanuel Navarrete this Saturday night, December 7th.
(Credit: Top Rank)
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) has not been competitive, losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Navarrete a year ago on August 12th. Former two-division world champion Valdez fought his best, but his punches had no effect on ‘El Vaquero’ Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs).
A joint duel between WBO light heavyweight champion Rafael Espinoza and Robeisi Ramirez 2 should probably be the main event as their first fight on December 9, 2023, a year ago, was one of the most exciting of the year.
Espinoza, 6’1″, pulled off a huge upset, defeating two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisi via a 12-round majority decision to dethrone him of his WBO 126lb belt. He did a good job of going off the deck in the fifth round to come back and wear down Robeisi and knock him out in the 12th to win.
Robeisi said in preparation for this fight that he wasn’t at his best, but we’ll see if that holds true. If he wins this fight and looks spectacular, you’ll have to buy his excuse that he wasn’t 100% last time.
Saturday’s Navarrete-Valdez 2 rematch will take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The event begins at 10:30 PM ET on ESPN & ESPN+.
“I feel that I can do much more in sports.” After I lost, I returned home. “I was disappointed with my performance,” he said Oscar Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and you can be better the next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a few losses. So doing that fight was very important to me. This is the biggest fight of my life.”
Valdez is not saying whether or not he will retire if he loses to Navarrete. There is no reason to because he would have a good chance of beating some of the other champions in the 126-pound division. A lot is being asked of Valdez to go up against a guy as big as Navarrete because he doesn’t have the size, strength or bulk to match him.
“Now, he comes with a different method. In the first fight, I think it helped both of us adjust the details. Now, we’re using the tools we got out of the first fight here. In this fight, we will have more experience and the same heart,” he said Emmanuel Navarrete.
ESPN+ Undercard at 5:30 PM ET
- Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs): Light heavyweight bout scheduled for ten rounds
- Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) vs. Isaac Munoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs): Heavyweight fight in eight rounds.
- Giovanni Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) vs. Fredric Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs): The light heavyweight contest is scheduled for ten rounds.
