Emanuel Navarrete outslugs Oscar Valdez to retain WBO title - ESPN

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Emanuel Navarrete swarmed with his trademark punches from puzzling angles, while Oscar Valdez, his right eye grotesquely swollen shut, searched for a fight-altering left hook.

That counterpunch landed multiple times throughout the 130-pound title fight between Mexican boxers Saturday night, but the shots never forced Navarrete to waver. The volume-punching Navarrete connected on four-, five- and even six-punch combinations while Valdez stood his ground in a firefight.

In an all-out slugfest on ESPN, Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) retained his WBO junior lightweight title via unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109. ESPN scored it 116-112.

«I feel happy to have been part of this… next great chapter of Mexican boxing history,» Navarrete, 28, said through an interpreter. «I am happy and appreciate Oscar for the great fight that we delivered.»

«Thank God I won,» he added. «I appreciate what he did in the ring. He is a Mexican warrior. If people want a rematch, they will demand it.»

Round after round, Navarrete fired punches from awkward angles, rarely setting his feet. He uncorked looping right hands and lefts from uncanny trajectories while in constant motion. He totaled a dizzying 1,038 punches for the fight, more than double the output of Valdez, who threw just 436.

Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) was content to march forward and exchange with Navarrete, a strategy that rarely worked. When he took a step back, he often missed wildly on home run swings. He did, however, connect plenty with his left hook, the same shot that brutally knocked out Miguel Berchelt in 2021 to win the WBC junior lightweight title.

When Valdez drilled Navarrete with the counter left hook in Round 2 and the champion didn't so