Former two-weight world champion Oscar Valdez 31-2 (23) admits he didn’t look great in his last fight but says it is all part of the learning experience.
The 33-year-old Mexican challenged WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete 38-1-1 (31) at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on August 12, losing a unanimous decision by scores of 109-119, 110-118 and 112-116.
“I definitely learned a lot from my last fight,” Valdez said at a recent press conference to officially announce his next fight against former world title challenger Liam ‘Mr Damage’ Wilson 13-2 (7) of Australia at the same venue on March 29.
“I grew up watching fighters like Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez. All these guys, one word that can describe them is warrior. I was inspired by them and always tried to kind of imitate them and give the fans my all.
“Sometimes that doesn’t work in my favour. I’m still focused on that for my next fight. I’m going to do my best and give the fans what they want. But I’m also just focused on winning the fight.
“We made mistakes [against Navarrete]. Sometimes you go into the ring with a game plan. Sometimes that game plan doesn’t work. Also, the opponent is studying and working on his craft for his fight. You can only work so hard – I work hard for every fight.
“Sometimes you just have to work smarter. I truly believe we have a strong team. At the end of the day, who’s inside the ring is me. Who needs to be focused is me. It’s up to me to stick to the game plan.”
Valdez will need to be focused against Wilson, who came within a whisker of defeating Mexico’s Navarrete, 29, one year ago.
Drafted in at short notice after Valdez withdrew due to a back injury, the 27-year-old Queenslander dropped Navarrete heavily in the fourth round only for the three-division champion to be the beneficiary of a long count.
Navarrete survived and eventually stopped Wilson in the ninth round, but not before the visitor proved he can hang with the top dogs of the division.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Wilson said of his bout against Valdez to The Ring. “We’re both fighters who like to come forward and love to fight. We both bring a high intensity and with him being a Mexican warrior, it’s going to be a war from the opening bell.
“With my performance against Navarrete and his performance against Navarrete, I couldn’t help but compare the performances against each other. I understand that styles make fights, but I feel like I gave Navarrete more resistance than he did, so I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be an all-action barnburner from start to finish.”
