Navarrete knocks out Valdez with physique shot in sixth spherical of rematch

Emanuel Navarrete defeated Oscar Valdez of their rematch on Saturday evening.

A exact and aggressive Navarrete impressed in his return to the 130-pound division by hitting Valdez to the pinnacle and physique in the principle occasion of a 10-fight card on the Footprint Heart in Phoenix. Navarrete dropped Valdez within the first, fourth and sixth rounds and have become the primary opponent to cease the previous two-division champion the gap.

Navarette's left to Valdez's physique dropped him for the third time with 30 seconds on the clock within the sixth spherical. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. dominated him out at 2:42 of the sixth spherical.

Mexican Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KO) retained the WBO junior light-weight title by beating the at all times brave Valdez into submission. Navarrete revived his profession after a 12-round loss to Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk in his earlier combat, which was contested within the 135-pound division, and a 12-round majority draw with Brazilian Robson Conceicao in 12 rounds. , 130-pound championship combat earlier than Berinchyk beat him.

Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) misplaced by knockout for the primary time in his 12-year, 35-fight skilled profession. The 2-time Mexican Olympian's solely losses earlier than Saturday evening had been unanimous factors defeats over 12 rounds in opposition to Navarette in August 2023 and Shakur Stevenson in April 2022.

Valdez, 34, was near tears as he apologized to his followers who traveled from Mexico to look at their rematch in particular person.

“We tried to get the win,” Valdez advised ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna within the ring. “We actually needed it. We skilled very exhausting for this. I wish to say that I’m sorry to all these individuals who have come right here to see me from throughout, from Sonora, from Nogales, from Phoenix. …I want I might have gotten a greater consequence. Thanks for coming right here to help us. Perhaps subsequent time.”

Valdez twisted his proper ankle when he fell after a knockdown within the first spherical. Nonetheless, he later admitted that Navarrete was way more the explanation for his TKO loss.

“We slipped and fell and broken our ankle a bit bit,” Valdez mentioned. “However that’s no excuse. [Navarrete] is a superb champion. I take my hat off to him. »

Navarrete acknowledged that their second combat was not as straightforward as it would seem traditionally on boxrec.com.

“Hear, Oscar Valdez was extraordinarily sturdy on this combat,” Navarrete mentioned. “And he stored shifting ahead, so what I needed to do was cease him in his tracks and push him again. As a result of should you let Valdez come in the direction of you down the slope, it's going to be a protracted evening.

The start of the tip Saturday evening got here when one other vicious left uppercut from Navarrete despatched Valdez into the ropes with about 1:20 left within the sixth spherical. Valdez tried to combat again, however Navarrete nailed him with the aforementioned left to the physique, bringing the motion to an abrupt halt.

Navarrete's violent assault continued into the fifth spherical. The champion caught Valdez with varied punishing punches over the course of three minutes, punctuated by a crushing left uppercut that slammed Valdez's mouthpiece to the canvas with seconds remaining within the fifth spherical.

A left hook from Navarrete knocked Valdez off steadiness and put him within the nook with simply over 1:40 left within the fourth spherical. Valdez stabilized himself earlier than falling and did his finest to make the remainder of the fourth spherical aggressive.

Nonetheless, simply earlier than the bell rang to finish the fourth spherical, Navarrete landed a number of proper arms on a retreating Valdez, who fell to the canvas for the second time of their combat.

After struggling a knockdown within the second spherical, Valdez valiantly took on Navarrete and linked together with his justifiable share of punches that helped him briefly halt Navarrete's momentum. Navarrete, taller, heavier and stronger, landed a proper hand on the temple of a susceptible Valdez that introduced him to his knees with 25 seconds left within the first spherical. Navarrete regarded way more efficient from the beginning of this rematch than in his loss to Berinchyk.