Coming op Saturday evening in Glendale, AZ, WBO junior light-weight champ Emanuel Navarrete will defend towards presumably his most embellished opponent in former two division world champ, Oscar Valdez. The 2 Mexican combatants will headline the High Rank Boxing/ESPN card from the Diamond Desert Area and the champ made it clear at Thursday’s last presser that there will probably be punches, plenty of them, launched Saturday evening.
From the High Rank launch:
“Everyone knows that this battle is elevating a variety of expectations. It might be completely fraudulent if Valdez and I didn’t give 100% on this battle. Everyone knows that everybody expects a battle within the ring. We now have all that it takes to make for an awesome battle,” Navarrete mentioned.
“I’ve mentioned that the battle with Valdez was vital for my profession due to all the things it represents. The rivalry between Mexicans is one thing important. It’s a very good factor for the battle. However boxing followers have additionally put a variety of stress on me, saying that my profession was lacking that cherry on high. They mentioned that I wanted a formidable and iconic battle the place I exert far more of myself. The battle with Valdez is that form of battle.”
It’s Navarette’s first protection of the vacant junior light-weight belt he gained in February in a wild battle Australia’s Liam Wilson that noticed him knocked down for the primary time in his profession earlier than rallying to cease the sport challenger on a TKO. Navarrete 37-1, 31 KOs, has additionally been on a roll with successful 11 consecutive championship fights in three totally different divisions going again to December of 2018.
Hear Dan Rafael preview Navarrete-Valdez with me off the “Huge Battle Weekend Preview Podcast” by clicking play under,
As for Valdez, 31-1, 23 KOs, he beforehand held the WBC 130 lb. title briefly with a booming KO of Miguel Berchelt in February 2021. Nevertheless, he misplaced in a one sided unification battle with Shakur Stevenson in April of final yr. Now, he’s able to attempt to regain world title standing Saturday evening, telling the media,
“This battle means the world to me. The loss to Shakur Stevenson sparked one thing totally different in me. It woke one thing up. It made me notice how a lot I missed boxing and the way a lot I really like the game. The yr away from boxing made me miss it a lot. I additionally miss being a world champion. So, it additionally means the world to me to have one other alternative to develop into a world champion once more.”
