A little bit greater than 10 years in the past, earlier than he turned a two-division world champion, Oscar Valdez fought on a Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view card as promoter Prime Rank assembled a robust contingent of younger fighters.
Along with Valdez, who was raised straddling the U.S. border with Mexico and Arizona, the promotion had Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko, Central California’s Jose Ramirez and Puerto Rico’s Felix Verdejo.
“At this level, he’s superb, a terrific prospect,” Corridor of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler informed the Los Angeles Instances of Valdez that evening. “Now we have a credo: capacity and marketability. We expect he has each. When a man can struggle, brings an viewers from Mexico, Arizona and California, that’s a giant fan base.
“Good puncher. This child’s price listening to.”
Now, with Lomachenko mulling retirement, Ramirez reeling from a current loss which will ship him there and Verdejo imprisoned for all times for the kidnapping that led to the dying of his pregnant lover, Valdez, 33, makes a treacherous stroll to the ring Saturday evening in Phoenix.
There, he’ll discover WBO super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete 38-2-1 (31 KOs), who convincingly defeated Valdez by unanimous determination – one scorecard had it 11 rounds to 1 – in August 2023.
The best way Valdez 32-2 (24 KOs) reacted so emotionally in defeating Liam Wilson in late March simply to earn this rematch confirmed how deeply he appreciated the place.
However now that he’s right here, with a dozen years of professional fights – greater than 220 rounds, together with some bloody wars – behind him, does this decade-older Valdez have what it takes to execute what his youthful self burned for?
On Monday’s episode of BoxingScene’s “Prime Tales” on ProBox TV, analysts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi mentioned Valdez’s tenuous future after host Jimmy Smith likened the bout to a “Win Or Go Residence” WWE match.
“It would apply, no?” requested Algieri. “Of their first struggle, Navarrete received handily. That was a giant blow to Valdez with followers anticipating an all-out, Mexican-on-Mexican blood-and-guts affair. It was not that.
“He’s had a protracted profession between the amateurs (as an Olympian for Mexico) and the professionals and the quantity of powerful fights he’s been in. If Valdez loses one other matchup, it’d be an actual blow to him and his stellar profession.
“He’s a (occasional tv) commentator who is aware of there’s life after boxing, and he’s (33), however based mostly on the miles, he’s an outdated (33).”
Valdez responded to the primary Navarrete defeat by saying he was too obsessive about touchdown a decisive hook that by no means materialized.
“He was too one-punch completely satisfied,” former welterweight champion Malignaggi mentioned. “Valdez has sufficient versatility to combine it up and create an issue. Nabarrete might be flustered by his ways.”
Navarrete, 29, is coming off his sloppiest displaying but, dropping a Might 18 determination to Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk as they fought for the vacant WBO light-weight belt.
A Valdez victory is “not past comprehension,” Malignaggi mentioned. “There’s totally different pathways these two can can journey to create that Mexican battle we anticipated of their first struggle.
“You possibly can’t really matter out a man like (Valdez). It’s a sleeper good struggle. We might get the barnburner we (initially) anticipated.”
Algieri famous that might imply a trilogy bout.
“(Valdez) has the skillset … if Valdez can go into his bag of abilities, this has the propensity to be blood and guts,” Algieri mentioned.
A decade in the past, Valdez was combating six occasions a yr.
Again then, he confused the significance of versatility.
“Being an beginner for therefore lengthy helped me be taught lots of kinds,” Valdez informed the Los Angeles Instances. “I hit fairly arduous, and attempt to be a sensible fighter. You all the time must work, have self-discipline. I believe on daily basis I am going to the fitness center, ‘I’m going to be somebody. I’m going to be a champion.’ ”
He’s completed that, however now the workload has decreased.
Valdez might want to summon it as soon as extra to face as a champion once more as he makes simply his second look of the 2024 calendar.
Fittingly, it’s in December.
