Oscar Valdez says that is the “largest struggle of his life” in his rematch towards WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete this Saturday evening, December seventh.
Navarrete-Valdez 2 & Rafael Espinoza-Robeisy Ramirez 2 will probably be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ SATURDAY starting at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) was not aggressive, dropping a 12-round unanimous choice to Navarrete a yr 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 struggle on December 9, 2023, a yr in the past, was one of the crucial thrilling of the yr.
Espinoza, 6’1″, pulled off an enormous upset, beating the two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy by a 12-round majority choice to dethrone him of his WBO 126-lb belt. He did a superb 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 stated within the build-up to this struggle that he wasn’t at his finest, however we’ll see if that’s legitimate. If he wins this struggle 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 disenchanted by my efficiency,” stated Oscar Valdez. “It’s not like different sports activities the place you may lose and you are able to do higher within the subsequent season. In boxing, most individuals don’t need to see you once more after a few losses. So, doing that struggle was crucial for me. That is the largest struggle of my life.”
Valdez doesn’t say if he’ll retire if he loses to Navarrete or not. There’s no motive to as a result of he would have a superb likelihood of beating among the different champions within the 130-lb division. It’s asking numerous Valdez to be going up towards a man as massive as Navarrete as a result of he doesn’t have the dimensions, energy, or quantity to match him.
“Now, he’s coming with a special methodology. Within the first struggle, I feel it helped each of us to regulate particulars. Now, we’re right here using the instruments we extracted from the primary struggle. This struggle, we’re going to have extra expertise and the identical coronary heart,” stated Emanuel Navarrete.
ESPN+ Undercard at 5:30 p.m. ET
Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs): Gentle welterweight conflict scheduled for ten rounds
Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) vs. Issac Muñoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs): Heavyweight struggle for eight rounds.
Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) vs. Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs): Welterweight contest scheduled for ten rounds.
