Photos: Oscar Valdez Grinding Hard For Rueda Title Clash

GILBERTO "Zurdo" RAMIREZ, Mexico's undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world champion with the matinee idol looks and two-time Mexican Olympian and undefeated No. 1 featherweight contender ÓSCAR VALDEZ, will headline the pay-per-view undercard topped by the junior welterweight world title unification battle between undefeated world champions TERENCE "Bud" CRAWFORD and "The Iceman" VIKTOR POSTOL. Photos by Mikey Williams.

Ramirez will be making the first defense of the championship crown he decisively won from three-time world champion "King" Arthur Abraham in April.  Ramirez will be defending his title against  DOMINIK BRITSCH.

Valdez will rumble with undefeated No. 2 world-rated contender MATÍAS "La Cobrita" RUEDA for the vacant WBO featherweight world title.  The pay-per-view telecast will open with former interim world champion  JOSE BENAVIDEZ, JR, risking his undefeated record and Top-10 world-rating, in a 10-round welterweight battle against FRANCISCO "Chia" SANTANA.

The eight pay-per-view warriors boast a combined record of 216-6-2 (135 KOs) -- a winning percentage of 96% with nearly 2/3 of their victories coming by way of knockout.  

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate and the motion picture "Hands of Stone,"  the Terence Crawford - Viktor Postol world championship pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, July 23, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®  beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.  The Ramirez vs. Britsch world championship bout will be co-promoted by Zapari Boxing Promotions.

Remaining tickets to Crawford vs. Postol are priced at $304, $204, $104, and $54, not including applicable service fees.

Valdez (20-0, 17 KOs), who represented Mexico in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, was the first Mexican fighter to qualify for two Olympic games and is considered one of the bright lights of the featherweight division and a new face for boxing's next generation.  In his last fight, on the undercard of the April 9 Pacquiao-Bradley pay-per-view, Valdez solidified his status as the World Boxing Council (WBC) and WBO No. 1 contender by scoring a fourth-round TKO of former IBF featherweight world champion Evgeny Gradovich.  It was the first time Gradovich had ever been stopped in his 24-bout professional career.  On the undercard of Pacquiao - Bradley II welterweight world championship rematch in 2014, Valdez captured the NABF super featherweight junior title, knocking out Adrian Perez in the fourth round.

Valdez successfully defended that title twice in 2014, knocking out Noel Echevarria and Alberto Gonzalez in the sixth and seventh rounds, respectively.  From Nogales, Sonora, Mexico Valdez, 25, won all four of his  2015 fights -- three by knockout.  He fashioned a third-round blasting of Jose Ramirez on April 11, in Laredo, Texas.  Valdez followed that with his live HBO debut, winning a dominant 10-round unanimous decision over one-time world title challenger Ruben Tamayo on June 27  in Carson, Calif.  He ended 2015 with knockout victories of top-10 contender and one-time world title challenger Chris Avalos and Ernes Sanchez on September 11 and December 12, respectively.  The four fighters boasted a combined record of 91-19-5.

Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs), from Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina, enters this world championship fight having won his last 10 fights by way of knockout which he credits to  his exciting "seek and destroy" style and deadly punching power.  He has made six defenses of the WBO Latino featherweight title he captured in 2013 via a third-round knockout of Juan Solis,  On January 16, he also became the South American featherweight champion, scoring an eighth round knockout of Leandro Mendes.  In his last fight, which took place on April 2, Rueda iced Nestor Pamigua in the third round to successfully defend both of his titles.