PHOENIX — The only thing that surprised Oscar Valdez about Terence Crawford’s victory over Errol Spence Jr. in Las Vegas last month was how one-sided it was.
Valdez expected Crawford to triumph over Spence in their undisputed world championship bout at the T-Mobile Arena, however, he said this week he couldn’t have predicted the masterclass that transpired.
“I called it,” Valdez told ProBox TV and other reporters Thursday days before his world title clash against Emanuel Navarrette atop a Top Rank boxing show Saturday at the Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.
Crawford dropped Spence three times in a fight that the Texan never looked to be truly competitive in.
It was one of boxing’s best nights in the modern era, according to Valdez.
“It was an amazing fight, a magic night, like one of those [Felix] Trinidad and Oscar de la Hoya nights, like Sugar Ray Leonard and [Marvin] Hagler,” Valdez told us.
He added: “We witnessed greatness that night. It was fun for me to watch.”
Valdez was speaking backstage at a Top Rank press conference to begin a fight week he headlines as he looks to continue his comeback following a wide, unanimous decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in Las Vegas last year.
Since then, he rebounded with a decision win of his own as he out-pointed Adam Lopez in May.
Now, Top Rank boss Bob Arum, and the promotion’s matchmakers, have turned him around in less than three months as he challenges Navarrette for the WBO championship in an all-Mexico fight.
A bout between Raymond Muratella and Diego Torres was originally scheduled to feature as the co-main event, however, Muratella had to withdraw from the contest due to a training injury, according to a Top Rank statement sent to ProBox TV.
The 10-rounder between Lindolfo Delgado and Jair Valtierra is now the new co-feature.
Elsewhere, heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr., and Emiliano Vargas — son of iconic boxer Fernando Vargas — compete in separate, career-building bouts.
