Tonight, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, we’ll witness a night of action-packed rematches. When Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) defends his WBO junior lightweight title against Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza makes his second title defense against the man he defeated for the WBO featherweight championship, Robeisy Ramirez.
Both matches will have plenty of firepower featuring four warriors who are ready for a war; they will do whatever it takes to capture a victory.
In the first match, Emanuel Navarrete threw 1,038 punches, doubling Valdez’s output of 436. Oscar has admitted to strategically having made the error of seeking the knockout against Navarrete. He’s stated he will not be making that mistake this time around. He’s made adjustments in camp and his game plan that will allow him to truly challenge Navarrete in the rematch.
Earlier this year, Valdez fought a tough opponent in Liam Wilson, whereby he appeared to be losing the early exchanges. He intelligently made adjustments in the match, boxing him with in-and-out movement and was able to finish Wilson in 7 rounds. This is the same Wilson who in 2023 gave Navarrete a tough match winning rounds and dropping him in the 4th. Wilson eventually succumbed to Navarrete’s power attack, being stopped in the 9th round.
Navarrete is difficult to defend because of his awkward movement and unconventional offensive attack. He throws from unusual angles and lunges his punches from a distance. At yesterday’s weigh-in, he looked in shape, appearing to have had a great training camp.
In the past, he’s struggled to make weight and performed inconsistently in the ring when he has. We’ll get the best version of Naverrete tonight and Valdez should prepare for what will be a tough match.
Navarrete will seek to do more of the same as what he did in the first match and apply the pressure. He’s stated that he’ll look for the knockout this time around, wanting to make a statement after his loss to Denys Berinchyk in May. Valdez will have to be great to defeat Navarrete and box similar to how he did against Wilson.
He must box the match of his life and use the full repertoire of his skills. Utilizing the jab, feinting, and effective lateral movement. Defensively he must do his best to thwart Navarrete’s punches using his guard, parrying, slipping punches, and not stay in the pocket longer than he needs to.
Navarrete likes to throw 3 to 4 combination punches; Valdez must effectively defend against these punches to survive the match. At 33, Valdez knows championship opportunities are limited from here on out, in true warrior fashion he will go to war and seek championship glory.
Source: Compubox
