Oscar Valdez: record, next fight and profile →
MGM Grand Conference Center, Las Vegas, Nevada - Oscar Valdez and Miguel Berchelt promised an all-Mexican clash for the ages. Valdez had other plans, as he dominated most of the action and knocked out Berchelt with a left hook at the end of the tenth round to win the WBC super featherweight world title from Berchelt, who was making his seventh title defense.
LAS VEGAS — The worst night of Miguel Berchelt’s career at least ended with good news. Cancun’s Berchelt was granted a clean bill of health and released from the hospital after being held for observation following a frightening knockout loss at the hands of countryman Oscar Valdez. A left hook rendered Berchelt unconscious at the end of the 10th round as the title changed hands Saturday evening at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Oscar Valdez was the offensive boxer the entire fight, outthrowing (534-447) and outlanding (149-99) miguel Berchelt on his way to a massive 10th round KO. Berchelt landed just 10 of 44 per round after landing 32 of 81 in previous 8 fights.
Berchelt, Valdez Official Scorecards - MGM Grand Conference Center, Las Vegas - Oscar Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) became a two division world champion when he scored a brutal one-punch knockout of heavy favorite Miguel Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) to capture the WBC super featherweight title.
By Jake Donovan - LAS VEGAS – Oscar Valdez saved the best performance of his career for his biggest fight to date. The two-time Mexican Olympian is now a two-division champion, claiming the WBC junior lightweight crown after knocking out countryman Miguel Berchelt just before the bell to end round ten. Valdez scored three knockdowns on the night, the last of which...
Berchelt, Valdez Scorecard BoxingScene Live - The Battle for Mexico is almost here. WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel Berchelt and former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez stepped on the scale Friday, one day before one of the most highly anticipated all-Mexican showdowns in boxing history. (photos by Mikey Williams)
Even if the fight doesn’t pan out, the trip down memory lane in the build was fun for many. The Mexican legacy near the featherweight limit, give or take a division is rich. Revisiting names like Olivares and Chavez, and rivalries like Barrera-Morales, helped set the table for this Saturday (ESPN, 10 PM EST).
Oscar Valdez views Miguel Berchelt as the strongest and best 130-pound champion in boxing. The undefeated former WBO featherweight champ clearly considers Berchelt beatable as well, even though odds-makers have established Berchelt as approximately a 3-1 favorite in advance of their 12-round title fight Saturday night. The odds are among the slights that have motivated Valdez throughout training camp for the main event of ESPN’s telecast from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas (10 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. PST).
LAS VEGAS -- Miguel Berchelt proudly stood on the scale, arms flexed and flashing a chiseled physique befitting a fighter widely recognized as the best junior lightweight in the world. The question is how long he can retain that status, regardless of what happens this weekend.
Carlos Zarate-Alfonso Zamora. Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales. Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez. Orlando Salido-Francisco Vargas. Could Miguel Berchelt-Oscar Valdez be the next great fight that will live up or surpass expectations in terms of action and excitement? That remains to be seen, but the fight is finally here. The real winners, like in the aforementioned fights, might be the fans tuning in.