By Miguel Rivera

WBO featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez has long demanded quality challenges in his professional career.

And now he gets that challenge, when he goes up against former champion Scott Quigg on March 10 in Carson, California. Valdez believes that it is now time to demonstrate his quality and position himself among the best in his weight division - like Carl Frampton, Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz.

"No doubt Scott Quigg is the most important fight of my career, he is a high-caliber fighter, renowned, former world champion, this fight is what we had been asking for and that is why we take it seriously to continue demonstrating where I want to go," said Valdez to ESPN Deportes.

The ESPN televised bout will also see a matchup of top trainers, as Valdez is handled by Manny Robles and Quigg trains under Hall of Famer Freddie Roach.

Valdez will arrive to the fight with a record of 23-0 and 19 knockouts, while Quigg enters with a pro tally of 34-1-2 and 25 knockouts. Quigg's only defeat was a 2016 twelve round decision loss to Frampton at super bantamweight.

Because of their aggressive styles, Valdez does not expect the contest to see a decision and he believes Quigg will be found on his back when the fight is waved off.

The Mexican Olympian feels that all of his recent fight errors have been fixed for the biggest moment of his pro career.

''I had been asking for those big names. Now it's Scott Quigg, he's the name I have in front of me, but I know that if I get it right we'll be able to look for those names that we've been asking for for so long,'' Valdez said.

"I think the knockout is very likely, I never go to the ring thinking about knocking out the opponent. I always go up with the mentality of going twelve rounds, but I am aware that our styles could produce a knockout. And if someone is going to fall - it's going to be Scott Quigg."

"We have learned from every fight, we have advanced, we have overcome every obstacle, I learned a lot in my last fight, I made mistakes, but that is why we work harder and harder so that those mistakes do not happen. Thank God the camp is going the way we want and I feel more than ready for this great fight."