Óscar Valdez

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Óscar and the second or maternal family name is Valdez.
Óscar Valdez
Statistics
Real name Óscar Rafael Valdez Fierro
Rated at Featherweight
Super-featherweight
Height 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in (1.66 m)
Nationality Mexican
Born (1990-12-22) December 22, 1990
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 21
Wins 21
Wins by KO 19
Losses 0
Draws 0
No contests 0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Mexico
World Amateur Championships
2009 Milan Featherweight
Pan American Games
2011 Guadalajara Batamweight
AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships
2008 Guadalajara Featherweight
Central American and Caribbean Games
2010 Mayagüez Featherweight

Óscar Rafael Valdez Fierro (born December 22, 1990 in Nogales, Sonora) is a Mexican professional boxer and the current WBO Featherweight Champion, winning the title in 2016. Valdez qualified for the 2008 Olympics at the age of 17 and became the first Mexican Youth World Champion. Four years later he qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Valdez is known for his aggressive fighting style, punching power and terrific combination punching. He currently boasts a 90% knockout ratio.[1]

Amateur career

At age 17, Valdez came to upset 2007 PanAm champion Carlos Cuadras at the semifinal of the 2007 National Championships and winning the bantamweight championship in his next bout.

At the Olympic qualifier he edged out Brazilian James Pereira in the semifinal and got one of two votes even though he lost in the final to Yankiel León, getting a silver medal and a pass to the Beijing Olympics with only 3 international bouts in his record. In Beijing however, he ran right into eventual gold medal winner Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan and lost his first bout 4-15.

In 2008, he moved up to Featherweight and won the first 2008 Youth World Amateur Boxing Championships. The tournament was held in Guadalajara in his home country, and he showed off the experience he had gained by beating his opponents from Barbados, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia. In the semi-finals, he had also knocked out the opponent from Ukraine in the first round. In the finals, he dominated the opposition such as Russian Maxim Dadashev whom he beat 12-0 in the final.

In Milan, at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships (seniors), he won the bronze medal and became the first Mexican to achieve a medal at a World Champhionships in the history of the sport in Mexico.

After his run through of the Featherweight division, once again Valdez moved back down to Bantamweight. There, He won his Olympic qualifier. Valdez won his first fight in the 2012 Olympic Games, defeating India's Shiva Thapa by a margin of 14-9. In his second fight of the games, he won to Tajikistan's Anvar Yunusov by a margin of 13-7 then lost 13-19 to Ireland's John Joe Nevin.

Professional boxing career

Early career

Valdez made his professional debut at the age of 21 on November 3, 2012. He defeated Angel Prado via 2nd round stoppage in a scheduled six round fight. The fight took place at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. In December, Valdez knocked out Corben Page in round 2 at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both fights took place at featherweight.

In 2013, Valdez fought a total of six times at super featherweight, winning all the bouts inside the distance. By the end of the year, he racked up a record of 8 wins, all by stoppage and no defeats.

On March 1, 2014 Valdez fought Samuel Sanchez on the undercard of Lomachenko-Salido at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The fight was halted in round 3, as Valdez won via technical knockout.[2] Valdez next fought in April on the Pacquiao-Bradley II undercard. He fought Adrian Perez (10-4-1, 1 KO) for the vacant NABF Junior super featherweight title in his first 8 round bout. The fight ended in round 4 when Valdez landed with a left hand to the liver, followed by a right hand, which sent Perez down to all fours. Perez made no attempt to get to his feet as the referee waved an end the bout. The three judges had Valdez ahead (30-27) at the time of stoppage.[3] Valdez successfully defended the title in May at the Forum in Inglewood, California retiring Noel Echevarria (11-2, 6 KOs) after round 6.

Valdez returned to featherweight for the first time in nine fights on July 26 and went on to claim the vacant NABF Junior featherweight title in an 8 round unanimous decision victory against experienced journeyman Juan Ruiz (23-14, 7 KOs) at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. All three judges equally scored the fight 80-71 in Valdez's favour. Ruiz was deducted 1 point for excessive holding during the fight.[4] The fight significantly ended the successive knockout streak dating back to Valdez's fight fight in November 2012.

Valdez made a defence of the NABF Junior super featherweight title in the Alamadome in November against Mexican boxer Alberto Garza 26-8-1, 21 KOs). Valdez retained the title via a technical knockout in round 7. Valdez fought a further five times towards the end of 2014 through to December 2015. Notable boxers he defeated included former super bantamweight title challenger Chris Avalos, Jose Ramirez and former interim World featherweight title challenger Ruben Tamayo.

Featherweight

Valdez vs. Gradovich

It was announced that Valdez would be fighting on the undercard of Pacquiao-Bradley III on April 9, 2016 for the vacant WBO NABO featherweight title against another prospect and former IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1, 9 KOs) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Valdez defeated Gradovich via 4th round stoppage to claim the vacant title and move up in the WBO rankings. Valdez dominated from the opening bell with head and body combinations also appearing to have broken Gradovich's jaw. In round 4, Valdez caught Gradovich with a left hook which put him on the canvas. Referee Russell Mora started the count. Gradovich managed to get up, but Mora made the call to end the fight.[5]

Valdez vs. Rueda

On July 23 2016, the undercard of Crawford-Postol at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Valdez fought undefeated Argentine boxer Matias Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs). Two days prior tot he fight, it was announced the fight would be for the WBO featherweight title after Vasyl Lomachenko decided to stay and super featherweight and vacate the featherweight title.[6] Valdez claimed his first world title winning the vacant WBO championship with a second round stoppage win over Rueda, dropping him twice with body shots. After the second knockdown, referee Russell Mora waved the count for the TKO.[7][8]

Valdez vs. Osawa

Valdez made his first title defense against 31 year old Japanese boxer Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs) on the undercard of Pacquiao-Vargas PPV bout on November 5, 2016. Osawa was ranked #1 by the WBO. The fight took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Valdez told FightNews.com of his excitement for his first title defence, “I am excited for this fight. I am looking at this fight like if I am the challenger and I want to keep that mentality to do my best and win the fight. I am ready for my first title defense but I am still training like I am trying to win that title.”[9]

The fight was one sided fight, Valdez halted Osawa in round 7 when he hurt him with a hook followed by a barrage of shots that prompted referee Vic Drakulich to stop the fight. Valdez hit accurate jabs and hard shots to the body and head from the opening bell and managed to knock down Osawa in round 4. At the time of stoppage, Valdez was ahead 60-53 on all three judges scorecards. According to Compubox, Valdez landed 191 punches to only 35 by Osawa, which included 129 power punches to his Osawa's 18.[10]

Professional boxing record

21 fights, 21 wins (18 knockouts)
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
21 Win 21–0 Japan Hiroshige Osawa TKO 7 (12), 1:50 Nov 5, 2016 United States Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO featherweight title
20 Win 20–0 Argentina Matías Rueda TKO 2 (12), 2:18 Jul 23, 2016 United States MGM Grand, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant WBO featherweight title
19 Win 19–0 Russia Evgeny Gradovich TKO 4 (10), 2:14 Apr 9, 2016 United States MGM Grand, Paradise, Nevada,U.S. Won WBO-NABO featherweight title
18 Win 18–0 Philippines Ernie Sanchez TKO 3 (10), 2:59 Dec 12, 2015 United States Convention Center, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
17 Win 17–0 United States Chris Avalos TKO 5 (10), 1:17 Sep 11, 2015 United States Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
16 Win 16–0 Mexico Ruben Tamayo UD 10 Jun 27, 2015 United States StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Mexico Jose Ramirez KO 3 (8), 2:05 Apr 11, 2014 United States Laredo Energy Arena, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 Colombia Jean Javier Soto TKO 5 (8), 0:02 Dec 20, 2014 United States Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona,U.S.
13 Win 13–0 Mexico Alberto Garza TKO 7 (8), 1:29 Nov 15, 2014 United States Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Retained NABF Junior super featherweight title
12 Win 12–0 United States Juan Ruiz UD 8 Jul 26, 2014 United States Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Won vacant NABF Junior featherweight title
11 Win 11–0 Puerto Rico Noel Echeverria RTD 6 (8), 3:00 May 17, 2014 United States Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained NABF Junior super featherweight title
10 Win 10–0 Mexico Adrian Perez KO 3 (8), 1:23 Apr 12, 2014 United States MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won NABF Junior super featherweight title
9 Win 9–0 United States Samuel Sanchez TKO 3 (6), 2:03 Mar 1, 2014 United States Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Mexico Cristian Barajas TKO 1 (6), 1:27 Dec 21, 2013 Mexico Casino Hipodromo Agua Caliente, Tijuana, Baja California, MEX
7 Win 7–0 United States Jesus Lule TKO 5 (6), 2:48 Nov 9, 2013 United States American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 United States Jose Morales TKO 3 (6), 1:57 Sep 28, 2013 United States StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 United States Gil Garcia TKO 2 (6), 2:32 Jun 15, 2013 United States American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 United States Rocco Espinoza TKO 1 (6), 2:58 May 11, 2013 United States Uni-Trade Stadium, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 United States Carlos Gonzalez TKO 4 (6), 0:58 Mar 16, 2013 United States Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 United States Corben Page TKO 2 (6), 2:24 Dec 7, 2012 United States Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Mexico Angel Prado TKO 2 (6) Nov 3, 2012 Mexico Centro de Usos Multiples, Hermosillo, Sonora, MEX

Endorsements

Valdez is the current face of WildCat energy drink, a British brand, which recently launched in the Americas.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "BoxRec - Oscar Valdez". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  2. ↑ "Valdez stops Sanchez inside 3". March 1, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Oscar Valdez wins boxing world title by knockout". LA TIMES. April 12, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Oscar Valdez vs. Juan Ruiz Full Fight". July 27, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Oscar Valdez defeats Evgeny Gradovich by TKO". LA Times. April 9, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Oscar Valdez vs. Matias Rueda upgraded to WBO title fight". www.badlefthook.com/. July 21, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Oscar Valdez stops Matias Carlos Rueda to win WBO featherweight world title". Sky Sports. July 24, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Oscar Valdez Crushes Rueda in Two, Wins WBO Title - Boxing News". Boxing Scene. July 23, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Oscar Valdez poised for first title defense". November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  10. ↑ "scar Valdez wipes out Hiroshige Osawa". Bad Left Hook. November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ Óscar Valdez capta el interés del mercado británico by Salvador Rodriguez. ESPN digital (Mexico) 25 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016 (in Spanish)
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