Oscar Valdez says he has studied Emanuel Navarrete’s style and feels confident he will dethrone the WBO super featherweight champion in their rematch this Saturday, December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: Top Rank)
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) feels he knows what he did wrong in his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Navarrete last year on August 12, 2023, and he wants to make amends this time around.
Oscar isn’t saying what his career options are if he suffers a similar one-sided loss to Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) because if he can’t win this fight, it’s hard to imagine him continuing in this. weight class. Navarrete has seen 100% shots in three of his last four fights against these fighters:
– Denys Berinchyk: 12-SD loss
– Robson Conceicao: 12 Draw (*controversial should be loss).
– Liam Wilson: TKO 9 (*Controversial. Saved from a knockout in the 4th round)
Saturday’s Navarrete-Valdez event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT/
Navarrete vs. Valdez marks
119-100
118-110
116-112
Valdez: “Will I be smarter?
“I have a fight for the world title against Emanuel Navarrete. Knowing that I made a lot of mistakes in the first fight, I can always go back and see our mistakes and train hard in the gym,” said Oscar Valdez to Sean Zittel. “I trained smart for this fight.
“Now, I know what to expect. I’ve been in the ring with him. I know he hits hard. I know he’s embarrassed. Now, I go to the gym and we train specifically for this fight. The first time, I went and I didn’t know what to expect or thought I knew what to expect until I stepped into that ring with him.
“Now, what do I know, I’ll be a smarter fighter here. I thank the lord for having another opportunity to fight him because I feel like a lot of fighters don’t get a second chance. I’ve been one of those fighters that has a another opportunity. I feel blessed and more excited than ever,” Valdez said.
Former two-division world champion Valdez claims he didn’t study Navarrete for his previous fight, which is hard to believe. How did a 2008 and 2012 Olympian and former two-division world champion Valdez not study Navarrette to pick the areas he could capitalize on? Going into that fight, Navarrete had only lost once in his career several years ago in 2012, and it wasn’t the kind of fight anyone could overlook.
Valdez vs Navarrete Punch Stats
– Navarrete: 216 of 1038 punches for 21%
– Valdez: 140 of 436 for 32%
“This is the fight for me. This is the fight that defines my career,” said Valdez about his rematch against “Vaquero” Navarrete on Saturday night. Valdez also lost to Shakur Stevenson. So, he can’t just say Navarrete’s fight “defines” his career because Shakur’s loss seemed even worse.
“This is the first time I’m going to have a rematch with someone who actually beat me,” Valdez said. “It can make it more complicated because you know you’ve been there with them, and your mind can play tricks on you, telling you that you lost to him.
“No, I want to be an example that you can lose, but you still have to come back. You can do it. Just because you lost, it doesn’t mean you’re out. I showed that in my last fight against Liam Wilson, but I want to do it an even better impression of going against the guy who really beat me. It wasn’t a close fight.”
Vulnerability of Navarrete
Everyone can come back, but like his previous fight last year, Valdez needs a very different approach for him to win the rematch. Navarrete has looked flabby and washed out in three of his last four fights since last year. The only fight he did well was against Valdez. Other than that, Navarrete should have a 1-3 record in his last four fights. The judges and the referee saved him in his fight with Conceicao, and Wilson.
He lost to Denys Berinchyk in his last fight, and even in that match, he came close to winning despite it being a one-sided match. Berinchyk schooled an out-of-shape Navarrete on May 18, beating him by a 12-round split decision in San Diego, California.
I scored 11-1 for Berinchyk. It was completely one-sided, but I wasn’t surprised that the judges in Southern California scored it close. It was expected, but it was anything but close. Navarrete looked like he hadn’t missed too many meals.
“It was a one-sided fight. I want to prove that you can train and you can come back and be victorious. I want to set that example. For me to set the example, I first win this fight,” said Valdez.
In their previous fight on August 12, 2023, it looked like Navarrete had too much size and power for the 5’5 1/2″ Valdez. The three guys the 5’7″ Navarete had trouble against last year were or taller than him or the same size. Valdez and his trainer, Eddy Reynoso, need a better game plan because he doesn’t have the size or power to get the best of Navarrete such as Wilson, Berinchyk and Conceicao.
