Emanuel Navarrete puts his WBO junior lightweight world title on the line in a rematch against Oscar Valdez on Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix (ESPN/ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET).
Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KO), of Mexico City, defeated Valdez by unanimous decision in their first fight in August 2023. Navarrete threw 1,038 punches in that fight, landing 216, but the last three rounds were the champion’s most impressive. Navarrete landed 32 punches in Round 10, 23 in Round 11 and 34 — all power punches — in Round 12. He expects another tough fight on Saturday.
“I’m working hard because I know I must push Valdez to his limits,” Navarrete said during a training session on Nov. 27. “The second half of the fight will be less about technique and more about physical training and who is the best prepared to withstand the punches.”
Valdez (32-2, 24 KO), from Nogales, Mexico, rebounded from that defeat with a seventh-round TKO win over Liam Wilson back in March. Valdez landed 44.5% of his total punches and an incredible 55.8% of his power punches against Wilson. The fight was close during the first four rounds, but the next three were all Valdez’s. He landed 69 power punches to 30 for Wilson before referee Mark Nelson stopped the bout.
“I know what to expect from Navarrete,” Valdez said. “I know what to train for. I’ve trained hard and smart for this fight. In the first fight, I made several mistakes. My biggest mistake was trying to knock out my opponent. I always want to give the fans what they pay for, but I focused on the knockout instead of sticking to my game plan. I’m working smarter, fighting smarter, and bringing in sparring partners that better imitate his style.”
This is an important fight for both fighters. Navarrete’s last victory was against Valdez 16 months ago. Since then, he has had a majority draw against Robson Conceicao in November 2023 and a loss to Denys Berinchyk last May. Valdez, on the other hand, is looking to keep momentum and avenge the loss to Navarrete to become a two-time world champion. Valdez’s only other loss was against Shakur Stevenson in 2022.
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