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: Top Rank)
Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) will face Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) for the second time and will look to duplicate the same dominance he did a year ago when he came close to beating him in a 12-round unanimous decision.
On ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 PM ET – Weights:
– Emauel Navarrete 129.9 vs. Oscar Valdez 130
– Rafael Espinoza 125.7 vs. Robey Ramirez 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 Gonzalez 127.2 vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez 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. Juan Carlos Campos Medina 149.7
Cesar Morales 136.3 vs. Kevin Mosquera 136.4
DJ Zamora 131.3 vs. Roman Ruben Reynoso 131.9
Barrera favors Espinoza over Robeisy
“After talking to them, they both said that the best version of themselves will show up for the rematch. I’m surprised by that because both visited the canvas during the first fight,” Marco Antonio Barrera told Top Rank Boxing, talking about the Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramirez in the joint fight Saturday night.
“You don’t usually see that when you have a Mexico vs. Cuban fight and a rematch. In my heart, being Mexican, I wouldn’t see it as 50-50. I would see it as 48-52,” Barrera said, favoring Espinoza to win against Ramirez.
It’s a size thing. Espinoza is big for the 126-lb division, and Robeisy looks like he’s more of a bantamweight next to him. He doesn’t have the size or the work rate to handle Espinoza’s high-volume style.
“In that fight it’s 50-50. They are both Mexican,” Barrera said of the main event between WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez. “The one who does have to make adjustments is Oscar Valdez.”
Barrera got it right. Former two-division world champion Valdez will have to make a lot of adjustments to win the rematch as he was completely dominated by Navarrete last year on August 12, 2023. Navarrete won by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112. The more accurate score of those three was the 119-109.
Can Valdez upset Navarrete?
At most, Valdez seemed to win one round, and it was a miracle that his corner didn’t stop the fight because he was never at any stage. It’s not that Navarrete has better skills than him.
This is 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 outboxed by both.
“We know that Emanuel Navarrete has a very difficult style. When he drives back, he is very tall. We know it’s going to be very difficult for him (Valdez) to deal with. Because this fight is going to be very different, Valdez will have to have a plan A, B and C,” said Barrera.
