Can Valdez overcome Navarrete’s size and strength?

Oscar Valdez feels confident he will avenge his loss to WBC super featherweight champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete in their rematch in 15 days time on December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The map will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.

Former two-division world champion Valdez (32, 2, 24 KOs) feels he fought a poor fight when he lost to (38-2-1, 31 KOs) by a wide 12-rounder on August 12 last year unanimous decision, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. Valdez (33) says he didn’t follow his coach’s game plan and was looking for a one-hit knockout.

Overcome The Size

The 5’7″ Navarrete seemed to be too big for the 5’5″ Valdez and used his long six-inch reach advantage to dominate the smaller fighter. If Valdez had better power, he could have won, but he was outsized and outshot by Navarrete. That probably isn’t going to change in the rematch, no matter how good the game plan is.

Navarrete vs. Valdez Punch Statistics

– Emanuel Navarrete: 279 of 1024 shots for 27.2%
– Oscar Valdez: 141 of 493 shots for 28.6%

With the kind of volume that Navarrete had, Valdez never stood a chance because he couldn’t match that output, and he won’t in the rematch. He wasn’t built for that. The only guys who can beat Navarrete are the slick fighters like Denys Berinchyk or those with massive power like Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez.

Valdez isn’t the only one looking to avenge a Dec. 7 loss. Two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) will challenge WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) in a rematch of their fight last year on December 9, 2023.

Robeisy lost a 12-round majority decision to the 6’1″ and relinquished his WBO belt. Ramirez-Espinoza will fight in the co-main event on December 7th.

Is Valdez really a different fighter?

“I’m going to beat him because I’m a better fighter, and I have different styles in my arsenal,” Oscar Valdez said. Battle hype on why he will defeat Emanuel Navarrete on December 7th.

“My game plan was off. We had a good game plan, but I left it because I was looking for that one shot,” Valdez said about why he lost to Navarrete last year. “The fans were there, it was loud, and I wanted to go for that one-shot knockout. It didn’t work, especially with a fighter like “El Vaquero” Navarrete.

“So, when I go back and watch the fight, I say, I made a lot of mistakes. So, I train day by day to become better, a smarter fighter in the ring.”

Valdez is coming off a seventh round knockout victory over Liam Wilson on March 29 in Glendale, Arizona. It was a good win for Valdez, but it wasn’t a guy on Navarrete’s level. Indeed, Wilson was already knocked out by Navarrete on March 3, 2023.

If Valdez loses the rematch with Navarrete, he should consider dropping back down to 126 pounds because he is too small to fight in this weight class at 130.

We saw this in Valdez’s loss to the 5’8″ Shakur Stevenson on April 30, 2022, in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss. Shakur looked huge compared to Valdez. It was a lightweight vs. featherweight because Valdez was much too small.

Valdez learns from mistakes

“When I fought Shakur, I was 100% ready for that fight, and I didn’t do anything to Shakur. So, as far as the El Vaquero fight goes, I know I’m a better fighter. I know I can win this fight. It’s just that I lost the game plan,” Valdez said. “When I fell, I lost focus. I’ve made several rookie mistakes, and that’s what’s going to be different about this one: being the smarter fighter.”

Valdez did everything right against Navarrete, but he couldn’t make up for the size, power and volume. That’s not going to change in the rematch.

“That’s what bothers me more about this loss than when I fought Shakur Stevenson,” Valdez said. “A lot of times it’s not about losing. It’s about knowing that you gave it your best shot. In my last fight against El Vaquero, I know I wasn’t the best I could be.”

“When I look at all the fighters at 130, the guy to beat is El Vaquero. 135, why not in the future? I consider myself a small 130. Maybe test the waters in the future and see if my body can adapt to that division,” Valdez said of a possible move up to lightweight in the future.