Oscar Valdez will be out to avenge his previous loss when he faces Emanuel Navarrete in a WBO super featherweight title fight in a rematch this Saturday, December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: Top Rank)
Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) says he overcame a 12-round unanimous decision loss to “Vaquero” Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) last year on August 12th. He says he had a great field going into the matchup, which made the loss much harder to deal with mentally.
The decline of Navarrete
Valdez caught Navarrete at the right time in his career. He has looked terrible in his last two fights and is showing serious signs of being there over the mountain. He’s only 29, but looks much older, which makes one wonder if he’s burning the candle at both ends between fights. He wouldn’t be the first fighter to destroy his career by living between matches and not remaining dedicated.
The stubborn weight that settled around Navarrete’s midsection, once cut, signals that he doesn’t live life between fights. With his growing instincts, he almost looks like a retired fighter, and he doesn’t look any younger, either.
Whatever Vaquero ate, it stuck to his ribs and slowed him down. What he needed was a climbing camp where he was tortured, and meals were regulated.
The Navarrete-Valdez 2 event will be shown at 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+. In the co-feature, WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza takes on former champion Robeisy Ramirez in a rematch that could take him away from the main event if he puts in another performance like in their clash last year past December 9.
Valdez didn’t give any hints about what he will do in the rematch to get the win, as he tried everything last time, but Navarrete had too much power and size for him. That won’t change for the rematch unless Valdez gains strength.
One thing the 33-year-old Valdez has going for him is that Navarrete is coming off a 12-round split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk on May 18 in a failed bid to win the vacant WBO lightweight title.
2012 Ukrainian Olympian Berinchyk completely schooled Navarrete, beating him inside and out and making him look like a rookie. Navarrete seemed flabby, slow, and not well trained. If he looks like that against Valdez, he’s going to lose.
Valdez wants revenge
“You can see at 135, he didn’t look like a solid 135. I have no doubt that he will make the weight,” Oscar Valdez told Fight Hub TV when asked if he wonders if Emanuel Navarrete will make the 130 lb limit for his fight this Saturday night.
“I don’t buy into that bit. I can’t train waiting like that,” said Valdez on whether “Vaquero” Navarrete shows signs of deterioration. “I’m going to train for the best version of Vaquero. I’ve already stepped foot in the ring with him. I already know what he is.
“Now, it’s a different game plan, a different mentality. Most of the time you get a rematch, it was a close fight, and you’ll admit it wasn’t a very close fight. It was a one-sided fight.
“When I beat Liam Wilson, it was a career-defining fight. If I lost that fight, most likely, I wouldn’t be here now. So, the fact that I won that fight, that was my ticket because after that fight,” Valdez said.
Valdez kept his career alive with a seventh round knockout victory over Liam Wilson on March 29. It was a great performance from Valdez, but he was facing a vulnerable guy, who had been knocked out in the 9th round by Navarrete last year on February 3rd.
“I started hearing more and more about a rematch (with Navarrete). I didn’t think much until I got the phone call. ‘Am I willing to take the fight?'” Valdez said.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘Hell, yes.’ Let’s go, let’s take it. What I have to do is take advantage of it and learn from my mistakes. I expected to win that fight because I had a great field. Losing, it was difficult to return to training. It was hard to keep the same hunger I always had,” Valdez said.
Last year, on August 12, Navarrete beat Vadez by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112. Navarrete hasn’t looked good in his two fights since, being handed a 12-round draw against Robson Conceicao on November 16, 2023, and then losing to Berinchyk.
Look at those two fights happening back-to-back for Navarrete; the only conclusion you can draw is that it shows signs of decay. He looked flabby around the midsection in both fights, and that suggests he enjoyed the money he earned. It is obviously rich, and when fighters earn a lot of money, it is difficult for them to enjoy eating.
