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SPORTS
Navarrete-Valdez lightweight title showdown coming to Glendale
‘La Batalla Por México’ will continue Mexican boxing tradition
(AP photos)
Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, right, of Mexico, will face Oscar Valdez, at left, in their WBO junior lightweight world title bout Aug. 12 in Glendale.
Posted
IF YOU GO
What: Navarrete-Valdez
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12
Where: Desert Diamond Casino, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale
Desert Diamond Arena 9400 W. Maryland Ave. Glendale, AZ
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Special to Independent Newsmedia
The boxing showdown of the summer heads to the desert.
Three-division world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete will defend his WBO junior lightweight world title against former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez in an all-Mexican duel Saturday, Aug. 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Navarrete-Valdez will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 7 p.m.
Promoted by Top Rank, ticket information will be announced shortly.
“Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez are proud warriors, and this is a fight that is destined to go down as a classic,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum shared in a statement. “The fight fans at Desert Diamond Arena and everyone watching on ESPN are in for a real treat. The winner of this fight etches his name among the great Mexican fighters.”
Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs), fighting out of San Juan Zitlaltepec, captured his first world title by defeating Isaac Dogboe for the WBO junior featherweight crown in 2018. He made five defenses before moving up to featherweight, where he beat Ruben Villa for the vacant WBO title in 2020.
The 28-year-old defended his belt with victories over Christopher Diaz, Joet Gonzalez and Eduardo Baez before moving up to 130 pounds. In February, Navarrete joined an elite list of Mexican three-division champions — including Morales, Barrera and Julio Cesar Chavez — by defeating Liam Wilson via ninth-round TKO for the WBO junior lightweight world title.
“I am very happy because this fight is finally official,” Navarrete stated. “After so much time, it will finally take place. Obviously, I am 100% motivated because Valdez is still a big threat and is very dangerous, and a fight against him could possibly be the start of a new Mexico vs. Mexico rivalry like the one between Barrera and Morales.”
Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs), from Nogales, represented Mexico at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. As a pro, he captured the WBO featherweight world title against Matias Rueda in 2016 and made six successful defenses. He moved up to junior lightweight and defeated Adam Lopez in 2019 and Jayson Velez in 2020 before taking on his toughest challenge, a WBC title tilt against Miguel Berchelt in 2021 in which he earned a 10th-round KO.
“I’m very excited to once again return to the ring, especially because it’s for a world title against ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete,” Valdez stated, “Being a world champion is something that I always dreamed of. I already did it two times, and this is yet another opportunity.”
