Junior lightweight Oscar Valdez may have lost his maiden fight to Emanuel Navarrete, but the Mexican fighter says he’s ready for revenge.
On December 7, Valdez, now 33, was billed to slug it out with 29-year-old Navarrete in a rematch of their WBO junior lightweight championship 15 months ago – where Navarrete cruised to a unanimous decision win to successfully defend his title.
Valdez, 32-2 (24 KOs), says the time is right for him to right his wrongs.
“Everybody knows we lost our first fight which was devastating for me because I thought I was 100 per cent gonna win that fight,” Valdez told Fight Hype TV. “I feel blessed. I feel blessed to have the opportunity again, but I'm more focused than ever because I've faced him already. I know what he's got. I know his advantages. It's for a championship belt, and it means everything to me.”
In May, Navarrete moved up to 135 pounds to challenge for the vacant WBO lightweight belt against Denys Berinchyk, but he lost a split decision to the Ukrainian. However, Navarrete, 38-2-1 (31 KOs), has decided to move back to defend his 130-pound belt against nemesis Valdez.
But Valdez refused to believe that Navarrete’s performance against Berinchyk could provide him with an advantage going into their rematch.
“We saw him losing at 135 to Berinchyk but we also gotta recognize the fact that he was going up with the division. So, if he's not as toughest at 135, he’s gonna be a tough fighter at 130 and so I gotta be ready for him.
“A lot of people have been telling me that he doesn’t look so good in his last fight but that’s not gonna be the reason why I’ll beat him. I'm gonna beat him because I'm more disciplined and I’m gonna beat him because I’m a better fighter. So, it's a lot more factors of why I visualize myself winning this fight because I just consider myself a better fighter and a smarter fighter.”
Valdez returned to winning ways in March following the defeat to Navarrete last year, stopping Liam Wilson in seven rounds. The Mexican admitted to making a lot of mistakes in the first fight against compatriot Navarrete, blaming his loss on his obsession with a knockout win.
“I think my game plan was just off because I left the game plan and was just looking for that one shot. The fans were there, and they were enjoying it. It was loud and I wanted to please the crowd and go for that one-shot knockout. And it did not work, especially with a fighter like Navarrete.
“So now we’re going back looking at the fight, looking at film and watching the fight. Like I said, I made a lot of mistakes so we're training day by day, trying to get better and become just a better fighter, be the smarter fighter inside the ring and win in general.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.