Oscar Valdez feels confident that he’ll avenge his loss to WBC super featherweight champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete of their rematch in 15 days on December seventh on the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The cardboard can be shown live to tell the tale ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
The previous two-division world champion Valdez (32, 2, 24 KOs) feels he fought a poor fight when he lost to (38-2-1, 31 KOs) by a large 12-round unanimous decision last yr on August 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. Valdez, 33, says he wasn’t following his trainer’s game plan and was in search of a one-punch knockout.
Overcoming The Size
It looked just like the 5’7″ Navarrete was too big for the 5’5″ Valdez and using his long six-inch reach advantage to dominate the smaller fighter. If Valdez had higher power, he could have won, but he was out-sized and out-gunned by Navarrete. That’s probably not going to alter within the rematch, irrespective of how good the sport plan is.
Navarrete vs. Valdez Punch Stats
– Emanuel Navarrete: 279 of 1024 shots for 27.2%
– Oscar Valdez: 141 of 493 punches for 28.6%
With the sort of volume Navarrete had, Valdez never stood a likelihood because he couldn’t match that output, and he won’t within the rematch. He’s not built for that. The one guys that may beat Navarrete are the slick fighters like Denys Berinchyk or ones with massive power like Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez.
Valdez isn’t the just one trying to avenge a loss on December seventh. Two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) will challenge WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) in a rematch of their fight last yr on December ninth, 2023.
Robeisy lost a 12-round majority decision to the 6’1″ and gave up his WBO belt. Ramirez-Espinoza can be fighting within the chief support bout on December seventh.
Is Valdez Truly a Different Fighter?
“I’m going to beat him because I’m a greater fighter, and I even have different styles in my arsenal,” said Oscar Valdez to Fighthype about why he’s going to defeat Emanuel Navarrete on December seventh.
“My game plan was off. We had game plan, but I left it because I used to be in search of that one shot,” said Valdez about why he lost to Navarrete last yr. “The fans were there, it was loud, and I desired to go for that one-shot knockout. It didn’t work, especially with a fighter like “El Vaquero” Navarrete.
“So, going back and searching on the fight, I say, I made a variety of mistakes. So, I train day-to-day to change into higher, a better fighter contained in the ring.”
Valdez is coming off a seventh-round knockout win over Liam Wilson on March twenty ninth in Glendale, Arizona. It was win for Valdez, but it surely wasn’t a man on Navarrete’s level. Indeed, Wilson had already been knocked out by Navarrete on March third, 2023.
If Valdez loses the rematch with Navarrete, he should consider dropping back all the way down to 126 kilos because he’s too small to fight on this weight class at 130.
We saw that in Valdez’s loss against the 5’8″ Shakur Stevenson on April 30, 2022, in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision defeat. Shakur looked huge compared to Valdez. It was a light-weight against a featherweight because Valdez was much too small.
Valdez Learning from Mistakes
“After I fought Shakur, I used to be 100% ready for that fight, and I didn’t do nothing to Shakur. So, so far as the El Vaquero fight, I do know I’m a greater fighter. I do know I can win this fight. It’s just that I lost the sport plan,” said Valdez. “After I fell off, I lost focus. I made several rookie mistakes, and that’s what’s going to be different from this one: to be the smarter fighter.”
Valdez did the whole lot right against Navarrete, but he couldn’t make up for the dimensions, power, and volume. That’s not going to alter within the rematch.
“That’s what bothers me more about this loss than after I fought Shakur Stevenson,” said Valdez. “A number of times, it’s not about losing. It’s about knowing that you simply gave it your best. In my last fight against El Vaquero, I do know I wasn’t the perfect I might be.”
“After I take a look at all of the fighters at 130, the guy to beat is El Vaquero. 135, why not in the longer term? I consider myself a small 130. Possibly test the waters in the longer term and see if my body can adapt to that division,” said Valdez about potentially moving as much as lightweight in the longer term.
