By Gerardo Granados: Tonight, live on ESPN+, at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, one of the most anticipated fights will take place when the WBO super feather Titleist Emanuel Vaquero Navarrete, with a record of 37 wins, one loss, and no draws, will try to defend his title against rugged veteran Oscar Valdez who holds a record of 30 wins, one* loss and no draws.
This fight has fight of the year potential written all over it since it was announced, and for sure, no boxing fan, be it a boxing purist or us, the savage, bloodthirsty fight fans, can miss it. Expectations are high for this bout, and some expect it to be as good as the Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera trilogy; some argue it can be even better than the Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez battles; for old fight fans, this one resembles the Carlos Zarate vs. Lupe Pintor clash and the Ruben Puas Olivarez vs. Jesus Castillo.
I think that the Vaquero vs. Valdez could end up being as good as the Orlando Siri Salido vs. Francisco Bandido Vargas. And most of all, if the styles mix well and both can handle their opponent’s punch power, we could as well end up having a fight on the level of Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward or Jose Luis Castillo vs. Diego Corrales.
But… yes, there is a but; if the wrong referee is picked to take care of the actions, we all could as well end up really disappointed.
A couple of weeks ago, we all saw how the Monster Naoya Inoue moved up once again and easily handled Stephen Fulton to conquer his fourth weight division title, winning the WBC and WBO super bantam straps. Indeed it was a good fight to watch, but in the end, it resulted anticlimactic, as referee Hector Afu waived it off and took away the chance to see Fulton getting knocked out for the full count.
We also got to see how referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout just when Terence Crawford was about to finish off Errol Spence Jr. I am not saying that it was a wrong call by the referee, but it was also anticlimactic not to be able to see Spence Jr. counted out on the canvas.
To all the pseudo-boxing fans out there who are about to start to cry for what you have just read, let me tell you that if you are reading this article, it is proof of your hypocrisy. If you expect to see Vaquero vs. Valdez to fight out a war for us to enjoy, then you should know that for that to happen, we, the fight fans need not only a referee to allow it to happen but also we need that you, the soft pseudo boxing fans and the boxing major media puppets to stop crying out loud for a fight to be stopped every single time that a boxer is in trouble or has have taken punishment thru part of the bout.
For the former WBO feather and WBC super featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez, he is in a win-win situation as he might be heading to the end of his boxing career. No, I am not saying that he is shot, but his best days are behind him. In his last two fights, he hasn’t looked good at all, and this is his chance for redemption. Valdez´s fighter pride cannot be questioned, and it seems he is looking forward to adding his name to a list of Mexican ring warriors who have given us epic battles to remember.
As for the former WBO super bantam, feather, and current super featherweight Titleist Emanuel Vaquero Navarrete, I think that he has an unorthodox boxing style, a bit awkward or ugly, but highly effective, and also has a good defense not the best but good enough to make opponents miss or just to take the hurt out of the punch. For Navarrete, this fight also can give him the chance to add his name to a privileged list of Mexican warriors.
I am betting on Vaquero to stop Valdez late on cuts. Perhaps the expectations are a bit high, maybe our lust for blood is justified for this one, and for sure, the boxers look willing to fight, but will the referee allow a fight of the year to take place?
