On May 20th, Oscar Valdez, the former two-time world champion, is making his comeback to the boxing ring. He will be featured on the undercard of the Vassily Lomachenko vs. Devin Haney fight, taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The card will be broadcast on ESPN+ PPV.
Hailing from Nogales, Mexico, Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs), a two-time Olympian, has attained world championship titles in both the 126 and 130-pound weight divisions. In 2016, he claimed the WBO featherweight title by defeating Matias Rueda and successfully defended it six times. Transitioning to the junior lightweight category, Valdez delivered a remarkable 10th-round knockout victory against Miguel Berchelt, seizing the WBC world title in a sensational fashion.
Unfortunately, Oscar Valdez's championship reign was brief. Following a single successful defense, the 32-year-old boxer experienced his first loss in a unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Shakur Stevenson in April of last year.
“I feel very happy to finally be returning to the place where I most like to be, which is inside the ring, after a one-year absence from boxing. I feel happy to finally be returning. I am very motivated, more than ever, to continue my dream to once again become a world champion. That is my goal this year,” said Valdez.
“In order to do that, I have to get past this obstacle, which is not going to be easy. I’m going to be facing someone that I fought in 2019 in Adam Lopez, an experienced opponent who even sent me to the canvas in the early rounds of our first fight. I cannot take him lightly, and that’s making me train harder now. I have to get past this fight to be able to fight the current champion, Emanuel ‘El Vaquero’ Navarrete.”
In an anticipated rematch, the former two-division world champion is set to face Adam "Blue Nose" Lopez once again. The two fighters previously clashed in 2019 where Valdez went down in round 2 but came back to win by technical knockout in the seventh round, and now they are prepared to meet in the ring once more.
Since his initial encounter with Valdez, "Blue Nose" Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs), a 26-year-old from Glendale, California, has competed in six bouts, winning three, losing two, and having one no contest. Among Lopez’s victories are decision wins against Louie Coria, WIlliam Encarnacion, and Jason Sanchez.
Lopez said, “He should have picked someone else. He barely got away the first time around. This time, it will be clear that I’m the better fighter. I’m coming to get mine back on May 20.”
Following his upcoming fight, Oscar Valdez has expressed his intention to challenge Emanuel Navarrete, the current WBO super featherweight champion. Their scheduled bout was set to take place last month; however, Valdez had to withdraw from the fight due to injury.
Frank Espinoza, Valdez’s manager stated, “Once Oscar gets past his next opponent in May, he will most likely face world champion Emanuel Navarrete for the 130 pound title… That fight will take place in August or September.”
