Valdez Motivated To Prove His Stock as Mexican Force
By Francisco Salazar
There is no need to remind Oscar Valdez that he is a very talented fighter.
He is often told that by many boxing fans and reads about it on blogs and social media.
As a 24 year old fighter who had an outstanding amateur career, one would think he could become overconfident and believe shortcuts will come his way. He is promoted by Top Rank and managed by Frank Espinoza.
But that is not Valdez. Go to The Rock Gym in Carson (a suburb of Los Angeles) and you will see Valdez working hard for hours, fine-tuning his skill set. He still has a ways to go before he could legitimately fight for a world title, but if what he has done as a pro is any indication of what his future lies, he is one to keep an eye on.
Those behind Valdez hope Saturday night's bout will be his coming out party. He will fight Ruben Tamayo in a 10 round featherweight bout at the Stubhub Center in Carson.
The bout will open the HBO 'World Championship Boxing' telecast (9:45 p.m. ET/ 6:45 p.m. PT) and will precede the 12 round welterweight bout between Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas.
Valdez (15-0, 14 KOs) has turned quite a few heads since turning pro in November of 2012. After representing Mexico in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, Valdez has impressed fight fans and writers with a blend of punching power, solid combinations, and an improving skill-set.
He has been fortunate to fight in front of crowds where there is a significant amount of Mexican and Mexican-Americans.
"The experience has been great," Valdez told Boxingscene.com in an interview earlier this month. "Everywhere I have gone, Texas, especially here (in Southern California), (I get) nothing but love. I'm grateful with all the fans. All the crowds that come have been so supportive since day one when I turned pro. I'm grateful and it's just another form of motivation for me in the ring to put on a good show.
Fighting at Stubhub Center on Saturday will be no different. Aside from watching the Bradley-Vargas fight, thousands of fight fans (many of whom are Mexican, Mexican-American, or other Latino groups) will be there to see Valdez fight.
Valdez faces Ruben Tamayo, a southpaw who will have a five-inch height advantage. Tamayo had a four-bout unbeaten streak snapped in his last bout on December 20, when he was stopped in the fifth round at the hands of Jesus Cuellar.
While he has buzzed through an opposition that has been very modest thus far, Valdez is not overlooking Tamayo.
"He's an experienced fighter. I take no fight lightly. I'm going to go in there and give it my best."
Many boxing experts believed Valdez already had a pro style while fighting as an amateur. His aggressive boxer-puncher style has attracted fight fans, but it is also something trainer Manuel 'Manny' Robles has had to tighten up in recent fights. The results speak for themselves so far, but more needs to be done.
While knockouts provide highlight-reel material for news outlets, Valdez understands the importance of having a solid all-around game, where he does not have to always rely on knocking out his opponents.
"I've always said that if the knockout comes, it comes. My mentality will always be to go the distance, but if I hurt my opponent, I'll obviously try to stop him. I feel like I've been advancing in every fight. I do feel the competition has been tougher. Hopefully good things will happen this year."
"At first, it (adapting to a pro style) was difficult going inside the ring and sometimes I felt I like I didn't throw enough punches. At the same time, some people thought I was throwing too many punches. I have a good trainer (Manny Robles) who has been telling me what to do."
Valdez has also received press outside of his fight on Saturday. Numerous boxing experts have placed Valdez amongst the top prospects from those who competed in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Just two weeks ago, Felix Verdejo fought on HBO in New York City and last Saturday, Errol Spence fought on NBC. Vasyl Lomachenko (who already owns a featherweight world title) and Joseph Diaz are other fighters who have done well three years removed from fighting in the Olympics.
While press and social media could feed an ego of young fighters, Valdez carries a balance of being level-headed and motivated.
"For me, it's an honor and a privilege that people consider me as the next big thing. Every time I go on social media, I hear people say 'Oscar is the next big thing.' That motivates me more. It gives confidence that I'm doing good. I don't want to get carried away and let it get to my head. I don't just want to believe it, I want to prove it, but it gives me more confidence. People have been saying that Verdejo is the next Puerto Rican thing and that I'm the best Mexican thing. That just motivates me a lot."
Valdez has a ways to go before challenging for a world title or a legitimate contender at 126 pounds. He remains driven, yet understands the poetical aspect of boxing.
He has a bright future in the sport and is eager to create his own path to greatness. How long that will take remains to be seen, but it will be fun and interesting to how it goes.
"Obviously, I have to do my best when I go in the ring. Hopefully I'll keep getting better."
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
