Freddie Roach, the head trainer for former champion Scott Quigg (34-1-2, 25 KOs), is very confident that his boxer will defeat WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (23-0, 19 KOs).
The negotiations are ongoing and very close to deal for March 10th, in an ESPN televised fight from the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Quigg has won three fights in a row since suffering his first and only career defeat at the hands of Carl Frampton in February 2016. Not too long after that defeat, Quigg began hooking up with Roach and traveling overseas to hold his training camps at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Quigg believes that he's increasingly growing as a fighter due to his decision to train in California, where there is a voluminous amount of top boxers to be found for sparring purposes.
Roach is not that impressed with Valdez and views him as a very vulnerable fighter. The Hall of Fame coach will start training Quigg for the fight on Friday.
In his last fight, Valdez suffered his first knockdown and was rocked a few times, but overcame those hurdles to score a knockdown of his won and secured in a twelve round unanimous decision win over Filipino contender Genesis Servania last September n Tuscon, Arizona.
"[Quigg] should beat Valdez. I don't think Valdez is that good," Roach said to the Los Angeles Times
According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Valdez, the deal is practically done. Quigg is promoted by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
"We're finalizing everything. It's essentially done," Arum said.
Arum admits that Valdez will need his A-game if he expects to beat Quigg, who suffered a fractured jaw in the loss to Frampton, but made the fight close in the second half of the contest.
"Is it a gimme fight? No. Quigg is good, and Valdez has to be at his best to win," Arum said. "It's about good competition for him."
