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It was doubtful anyone expected Oscar Valdez to fall in the second round of his fight against Adam Lopez in 2019. Lopez, after all, was essentially a last minute opponent for the popular Valdez. However, Valdez went down, courtesy of a nasty Lopez left. Valdez managed to beat the count and eventually won the fight, thanks to a seventh round stoppage, but those moments on the mat remained in the collective memory. Now, 30-1 Valdez has a chance to erase that memory as he once again battles 16-4 Lopez this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The match, which is essentially the co-main event on the Devin Haney-Vasyl Lomachenko pay per view card, is important for the 32-year-old Valdez for a number of reasons. In addition to lining up against Lopez again, Valdez will also fight for the first time since suffering his only loss, which occurred at the gloved hand of Shakur Stevenson more than a year ago. Not only did Shakur place an L on Valdez’s otherwise perfect record, but he exited the ring that night with the Valdez WBC super middleweight title in his possession, courtesy of a unanimous decision by the judges.
Valdez, needless to say, wants another crack at title glory. Should he beat the 27-year-old Lopez for a second time in the 10-round round this weekend, he would find himself getting close to another shot at that glory. «We want the best,» Valdez recently said FightHype. “We want the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the IBF (belts). The sky is the limit… but for that to happen, I have to go against Adam Lopez and finish him first.” Indeed. Valdez has good reason to be confident. The boxer may be 32 now, but 32 is no longer what a time in boxing.
Also there is the question of experience. Over the course of his career, likable multi-division winner Valdez has gotten the better of the likes of Scott Quigg and Miguel Berchelt – nobody’s definition of slouches. Furthermore, when you consider the fact that the only loss on Valdez’s resume has come from Stevenson – a man some say is one of the best pound for pound fighters on earth – it doesn’t become too difficult to imagine Valdez once again having at least one world title in his possession. As everyone knows, great things can happen when you win again.
