WBO Super Featherweight Title
Footprint Center
Phoenix, Arizona
Dec. 7th
TopRank Boxing on
ESPN/ESPN+
Emanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez Tale of the Tape
Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (C) (38-2-1, 31KOs)
San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico
Age: 29
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 72”
Stance: Orthodox
Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24KOs)
Nagales, Sonora, Mexico
Age: 31
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 69”
Stance: Southpaw
Emanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez 2 breakdown
Since their first meeting in Glendale, AZ in August of 2023, Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete retained his WBO title in a majority draw against Robson Conceicao, and then moved up to try for a lightweight title against Denys Branchek but looked a bit flat, and came up short. Meanwhile Valdez faced Liam Wilson, who had previously given Vaquero all he could handle, and won by stoppage to gain the interim WBO title. Now they face each other once again, this time at a different point in their careers. Valdez plans to settle the score and finally take the full title from Navarrete. Navarrete is likely confident that he will once again defend his belt and show the world who the better man is.
The Owens Opinion: Though the first meeting was highly anticipated, it ended up being a bit lopsided in Vaquero’s favor. But Navarrete has not won a fight since then, and Valdez had a contested, but impressive outing against Liam Wilson, indicating that perhaps this time will be different. Knowing that both men have more to prove this go round, with Vaquero having been on a bit of a lull in his career, and Valdez likely being on the back 9 of his own, I figure it will look more like what we expected in the build up to the first bout. As dynamic and unpredictable as Navarrete can be, he is the rightful favorite going in. That said, something tells me that Valdez will take what he learned from the previous loss and find a way to get the upper hand this time in Arizona, a somewhat second home for the former world, and current interim, champ.
Rafael Espinoza vs Robeisy Ramirez 2 Tale of the Tape
WBO World Featherweight Title
Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza (C) (25-0, 21KOs)
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Age: 30
Height: 6’1”
Reach: 74”
Stance: Orthodox
Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9KOs) Cienfuegos, Cuba
Age: 30
Height: 5’6”
Reach: 68”
Stance: Southpaw
Rafael Espinoza vs Robeisy Ramirez 2 breakdown
This rematch, leading into the main event, is just as interesting. In their first meeting the hitherto unheard of Rafael Espinoza had some success but was dropped hard in the fifth round by Robeisy Ramirez, broke a bone in his foot, and looked as if he would not recover, proving the oddsmakers right in making him the sizeable underdog. Not only did “El Divino” recover from the onslaught of the highly touted Cuban champion, he used his skill, size, and grit to turn the fight around, and even got a 10-8 of his own in the 12th. That fight put Espinoza on the map, and took him from an unknown quantity to a celebrated Mexican champion. What Rafael did was so impressive only because of how outstanding Robeisy himself is. While having 2 losses in 16 fights on paper seems so-so, Ramirez is absolutely the goods. Robeisy was highly touted and a multiple time amateur champion in Cuba, even winning two gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Taking an unexpected loss in his pro debut, Ramirez not only shut Adan Gonzalez out in the rematch in his 6th fight, but became a fully fledged world champion in only 13, a better indicator of how top-tier of a boxer he is.
Both men have had one fight since the upset, and both came out with another TKO victory. Now Robeisy gets a chance at revenge, and has the skill, IQ, and power to do so. While Espinoza gets another chance to show his level and prove that he is simply the better man.
The Owens Opinion: I’ve always ranked Robeisy highly, and still do. Being a sucker for a storybook upset, their first outing also made me a massive fan of Espinoza. I really don’t know how this one will turn out, but what I do know is that whoever takes the loss deserves no less respect than they had previously. There’s a possibility that without a broken foot and possible concussion, Espinoza can use his size and power to even more of an advantage than the first time. There’s also a possibility that Ramirez can prove once again that his high IQ and ability to adjust will make up the difference in the rematch. Though it’s not likely to be as dramatic as the first, I’m very excited for this one.
Emanuel Navarrete vs Oscar Valdez 2 Undercard
Top Rank did a great job on this one. The undercard deserves just as much attention as the main fights. On paper they are all, at the very least, competitive. Though they may not end up looking that way in the ring, they will definitely be entertaining and worthy of your attention on a Saturday night.
Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15KOs) vs Jackson “El Fenix” Marinez (22-3, 10KOs)-Super Lightweight
Giovanni “Gallo de Oro” Santillon (32-1, 17KOs) vs Fredrick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-5, 22KOs)-Welterweight
Richard “Kiki” Torrez jr (11-0, 10KOs) vs Isaac “Drago” Munoz Guitierrez (18-1-1, 15KOs)-Heavyweight
And More..
*(C)-reigning champion
