WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and challenger Oscar Valdez both successfully weighed in at Friday's weigh-in for their rematch this Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: first row)
Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KO) will face Valdez (32-2, 24 KO) for the second time and will attempt to replicate the same dominance he did a year ago when he nearly blanked him in a Unanimous decision in 12 rounds.
On ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET – Weight:
– Emauel Navarrete 129.9 against. Oscar Valdez 130
– Rafael Espinoza 125.7 vs. Robey Ramírez 125.6
(ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT
Lindolfo Delgado 139.9 vs. Jackson Marinez 139.2
Richard Torrez Jr. 236.6 vs. Isaac Munoz 252.1
Albert González 127.2 against. Gerardo Antonio Pérez 127.7
Steven Navarro 115.6 vs. Gabriel Bernardi 115.4
Giovani Santillan 147.9 vs. Fredrick Lawson 146.3
Art Barrera Jr. 149.4 vs. Medina Juan Carlos Campos 149.7
Cesar Morales 136.3 against. Kevin Mosquera 136.4
DJ Zamora 131.3 vs. Romain Rubén Reynoso 131.9
Barrera prefers Espinoza to Robeisy
“After talking to them, they both said the best version of themselves would show up for the rematch. I’m surprised about that because both visited the canvas in the first fight,” Marco Antonio Barrera told Top Rank Boxing, speaking about Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramirez in Saturday night’s co-feature fight.
“You don't usually see that when there's a fight between Mexico and Cuba and a rematch. In my heart, because I'm Mexican, I wouldn't consider this a 50-50 split. I would see it as 48-52,” Barrera said, favoring Espinoza to win against Ramirez.
It's a question of size. Espinoza is huge for the 126-pound division, and Robeisy looks like more of a bantamweight next to him. He doesn't have the size or work rate to cope with Espinoza's high-volume style.
“In this fight, it’s 50-50. They’re both Mexican,” Barrera said of the main event fight between WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez. “The one who has to make adjustments is Oscar Valdez.”
Barrera is right. Former two-division world champion Valdez will have to make many adjustments to win the rematch as he was completely dominated by Navarrete last year on August 12, 2023. Navarrete won by the scores 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112. The most accurate score of these three was 119-109.
Can Valdez upset Navarrete?
At most, Valdez appeared to win a round, and it was a miracle his corner didn't stop the fight as it wasn't in at any point. It's not that Navarrete has better skills than him.
It's the size. He is much bigger, stronger and has a higher work rate. Against Robson Conceicao and Denys Berincyn, fighters closer to Navarrete's size, he was shut out by both.
“We know that Emanuel Navarrete has a very difficult style. When it moves backwards, it is very long. We know it's going to be very difficult for him [Valdez] to deal with this. Because this fight will be very different, Valdez will have to have a plan A, B and C,” Barrera said.
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