PHOENIX – Will the adjustments alter the outcome, or has the die been cast?
That’s the intrigue over Saturday night’s two-title-fights ESPN card at Footprint Center with WBO super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete defending his belt against former two-division champion Oscar Valdez and WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza seeking a repeat victory over Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez.
The fighters each made weight Friday.
Perhaps the most consternation hovered around Navarrete, who is moving back down to 130 pounds after losing his shot to become a four-division champion in May while losing to new WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk.
Mexico’s Navarrete 38-2-1, (31 KOs) weighed 129.9 pounds and while he appeared a little sunken in the face compared to Mexico’s Valdez 32-2 (24 KOs), so did the 6-feet-1 Espinoza 25-0 (21 KOs) while weighing 125.7 pounds with the 5-6 Ramirez 14-2 (9 KOs) coming in at 125 pounds.
In their first meeting last year, Navarrete, 29, overwhelmed Valdez, 33, to cruise to a wide unanimous decision. Valdez rallied to stop an opponent in Liam Wilson who had dropped Navarrete.
And after Navarrete’s flat showing against Berinchyk, the expectation is that the savvy two-time Mexican Olympian Valdez will craft a creative fight plan with trainer Eddy Reynoso to regain a 130-pound belt.
Valdez said after weighing in he was filled with emotions and was planning a different approach in his first career rematch.
“Who’s the best? We’ll find out. It means the world to me to be the best,” Valdez said.
Here’s the remainder of the weights for the 10-bout card that begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Pacific, with the ESPN portion starting at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific.
Lindolfo Delgado 139.9, Jackson Marinez 139.3, junior-welterweights; Richard Torrez Jr. 236.6, Isaac Munoz 252.1, heavyweights; Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez 127.2, Gerardo Antonio Perez 127.7, featherweights; Steven Navarro 115.6, Gabriel Bernardi 115.4, junior-bantamweights; Giovanni Santillan 147.9, Frederick Lawson 146.3, welterweights; Art Barrera Jr. 149.4, Juan Carlos Campos Medina, 149.7, welterweights; Cesar Morales 136.3, Kevin Mosquera 136.4, lightweights; DJ Zamora 131.3, Roman Ruben Reynoso 131.9.
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