Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2 both weighed in today for their headliner on Saturday, and Rafael Espinoza and Robeisy Ramirez also weighed in successfully for their chief support bout at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: Top Rank)
During the face-off, Valdez, 33, had a look of worry on his face, as if he knows he’s up against it, and heading towards another one-sided loss to Navarrete. By now, Valdez is aware that the oddsmakers have Navarrete as the favorite, and the boxing public see him as dominating once again. That has to be bothering Valdez because he was almost depressed today at the weigh-in.
WBO super featherweight champion Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) looked in better shape on Friday than in his last two fights against Denys Berinchyk and Robson Conceicao. He was fat around the midsection for both of those fights and lucky not to have lost both.
Many fans believe Navarrte deserved a loss in both of those matches instead of just the Berinchyk.
During the final press conference on Thursday, Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) said that this is the “Most important fight of my career,” and he’s not kidding. The way he got dominated by Navarrete the last time they fought on August 12, 2023, he cannot afford another loss in the same manner.
WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) looked like a giant staring down at the 5’6″ two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) during the face-off. Espinoza already beat Robeisy once, winning a 12-round majority decision on December 9th last year, and he’s got an excellent chance of doing it again.
Compete weights
– Emauel Navarrete 129.9 vs. Oscar Valdez 130
– Rafael Espinoza 125.7 vs. Robeisy Ramirez 125.6
– Lindolfo Delgado 139.9 vs. Jackson Marinez 139.2
– Richard Torrez Jr. 236.6 vs. Issac 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
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