By Ryan Burton
Frank Espinoza, manager of WBO featherweight champion Óscar Valdez (21-0, 19KOs) and several other fighters, recently spoke to BoxingScene.com about potential scenarios for his young champion.
The two-time Mexican Olympian had a banner 2016, going 3-0 with 3 knockouts and captured his first world title in the second fight of the year.
As for what would be the dream scenario for Espinoza, he said a clash versus former three-division champion and current WBA "regular" featherweight title holder Abner Mares (30-2-1, 15KOs) would be the perfect fight.
Mares bounced back in style last Saturday night in Los Angeles, when he won a dominating decision over Jesus Cuellar to win the WBA crown. It was Mares' first fight since losing a highly competitive fight with Los Angeles rival Leo Santa Cruz last August. The fight had been initially scheduled for June and then pushed back after Mares failed an eye exam and the New York Stats Athletic Commission refused to sanction the fight.
Espinoza was Mares' longtime manager. They parted ways in August of 2014 when Mares signed with rival manager/adviser Al Haymon. Espinoza had guided Mares to three world titles in three weight divisions before the split.
"I would like to make the Valdez-Mares fight. That is my Christmas wish for 2017. That's a huge fight in Vegas or LA," Espinoza told BoxingScene.com.
The split between Espinoza and Mares was anything but amicable and would provide an interesting story line if Valdez's promoter Top Rank and Al Haymon were to broker a deal.
The only issue that might come up is the television rights. Mares built up his entire career on Showtime, while Valdez has been featured and built up on HBO - although several of his fights have landed on pay-per-view undercards.
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