Oscar Valdez to Fight Adam Lopez in a 130-Pound Rematch Bout in May

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar Valdez will be headed to the boxing ring this May…

The 32-year-old Mexican professional boxer, a former two weight world champion, will face Adam Lopez in a 130-pound rematch on May 20 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN sources.

The bout will serve as chief support for the Devin Haney–Vasiliy Lomachenko fight for the undisputed lightweight championship on ESPN+ PPV, per source.

Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) defeated Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) via seventh-round stoppage in November 2019, but the fight was far tougher than accepted. Lopez, a major underdog, floored Valdez in Round 2 before the Mexican Olympian rallied for the TKO victory.

Valdez and Lopez were set to fight different opponents on that night, but after Valdez’s original opponent came in overweight, the matchup was pieced together for the following night.

“I was very surprised [by the knockdown],” Valdez said at the time. “I take my hat off to Adam Lopez. He’s a great fighter, great warrior, just like his father [Hector Lopez] was. I just got hit. This is boxing. I prepared myself for two, three months for [Adrian] Gutierrez. Got a new opponent, but that’s no excuse. This kid is a warrior.”

This time around, they’ll have ample time to prepare for one another in advance.

Valdez was set to fight Emanuel Navarrete on February 3 for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title but withdrew because of a rib injury.

Navarrete went on to win the title with a ninth-round TKO victory over Liam Wilson. If Valdez defeats Lopez again as expected, Navarrete will defend the title vs. Valdez later this year, per source.

But first, Valdez must contend with Lopez. Valdez, 32, lost his 130-pound title in April when Shakur Stevenson routed him. Prior to that, he defeated Robson Conceicao in September 2021 after Valdez tested positive for the banned substance phentermine.

Lopez, 26, owns only one win over the past two years, sandwiched by decision losses to Isaac Dogboe and, most recently, Abraham Nova in January. He was floored twice vs. Nova.

“I would love a rematch with Oscar; he’s a true fighter,” Lopez said in November 2019. “I’m not a 130-pounder, but I’m a real fighter as well, so I’ll take on anybody, anywhere.”

Canelo Alvarez Will Defend Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship vs. John Ryder in May

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Canelo Alvarez is going on the defensive…

The 32-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the sport’s top star, will defend his undisputed super middleweight championship versus John Ryder on May 6 in Jalisco, Mexico, the fighter has announced.

The Alvarez-Ryder bout will take place at Akron Stadium, a soccer venue with a capacity of nearly 50,000.

It will be Alvarez’s first in Mexico since 2011, when he defeated Kermit Cintron to retain his 154-pound title. That event was in Mexico City. Alvarez hasn’t competed in Guadalajara since 2010, before he won his first championship.

Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will step inside the ropes for the first time since he underwent left wrist surgery in October. The procedure followed Alvarez’s win over Gennadiy Golovkin in September to close out the trilogy.

“I feel really happy to be coming back in May, because following my surgery, I was unsure of when I’d be coming back,” said Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer. “Returning to the ring and coming back to fight in Jalisco, where I’m from, makes me especially happy. And in John Ryder, I’m facing a very competitive fighter.”

The injury also hampered Alvarez in an upset loss to Dmitry Bivol in May at 175 pounds, Alvarez’s first defeat since he was routed by Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

Ryder, a 34-year-old Londoner, will be a major underdog in his second world title opportunity. He was on the wrong end of a controversial decision when he challenged Callum Smith for his 168-pound title in 2019.

Since the defeat, Ryder has won four straight. His most recent two victories came against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker last year, in February and November, respectively. The victory over Jacobs was a tight decision, while Parker retired on his stool with a broken hand following Round 4.

Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) won the vacant WBO interim title when he defeated Parker, so Alvarez could be in position to fulfill one of the obligations for the four 168-pound titles he possesses. Ryder, a pressure-fighting southpaw, is ESPN’s No. 4 super middleweight.

“There’s no denying that Canelo is one of the greats, and I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s achieved in the sport, but I fully believe this is my time [to] fulfil my dream of becoming a world champion,” Ryder said.

“I’m not going over there for a holiday. For me, this is purely business, and my full focus is on going into his backyard in Guadalajara on May 6 and bringing those belts back with me to the U.K.”

Alvarez, meanwhile, could face Bivol in a September rematch, but this time at 168 pounds for his undisputed championship. Bivol has expressed a willingness to drop down in weight, so the bout could materialize once Alvarez pushes past Ryder as expected.

Alvarez is a promotional and network free agent, but he’ll be fighting for Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing on DAZN for the third consecutive outing.

WBO Orders Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford to Fight Alexis Rocha in Mandatory Defense Bout

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Alexis “Lex” Rocha will have get his title chance…

The WBO has ordered its welterweight champion, Terence Crawford, to start negotiations for a mandatory defense against the 25-year-old Latino boxer, who is ranked No. 3 by the organization.

In a letter sent to both sides Monday, the WBO stated that the parties have 20 days to “reach an agreement” for the bout. If no agreement is reached, the fight will go to a purse bid.

“Terence Crawford’s mandatory defense window has expired, he needs to do his mandatory [fight], since he hasn’t done one since he fought against Shawn Porter [in November 2021]. Crawford fought [David] Avanesyan, but that wasn’t a mandatory defense,” Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, the WBO president, told ESPN on Tuesday.

Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs), a promotional free agent after leaving Top Rank when his contract expired following the Porter fight, defeated Avanesyan by sixth-round KO on December 10. Crawford has fought only two times since he defeated Kell Brook by fourth-round TKO in November 2020.

Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs), promoted by Oscar De La Hoya‘s Golden Boy, stopped George Ashie in the seventh round on January 28. He has accumulated six straight victories — four by stoppage — since suffering the only defeat of his career, a unanimous decision to Rashidi Ellis in October 2020. His best win was a ninth-round KO victory over then undefeated Blair Cobbs in March 2022.

With Vergil Ortiz Jr., the WBO No. 1 challenger, scheduled to face Eimantas Stanionis on April 29, and Keith Thurman, No. 2, attached to a possible fight against unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. at junior middleweight, Rocha was the next opponent in line for Crawford.

“Rocha is our NABO champion and he’s a great fighter. Don’t believe for a second that he’s a soft opponent [for Crawford],” Valcarcel said. “People talk, but Rocha is a tremendous fighter, he’s young and he’s learning fast. Crawford is a super-gifted athlete, but in boxing nothing is written in stone.”

Crawford and Spence have been circling for years to fight for the undisputed championship — one of the best and biggest fights boxing can offer — but that mega-event never materialized and with Spence moving up in weight, chances are, we won’t see Crawford-Spence anytime soon.

ESPN was unable to obtain a comment from either Golden Boy or Crawford on Tuesday morning.

Teofimo Lopez to Fight Josh Taylor for WBO Junior Welterweight Title

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Teofimo Lopez will be fighting for another title…

The 25-year-old Honduran American professional boxer has agreed to fight Josh Taylor for Taylor’s WBO junior welterweight title on June 10 in New York on ESPN/ESPN+.

The 140-pound bout, which pits the former undisputed junior welterweight champion against Lopez, the ex-undisputed lightweight champion, will take place at either Madison Square Garden (20,000-plus seats) or the Hulu Theater at MSG (approximately 5,500 capacity).

“We’re set on the fight. Teo is set on Josh Taylor like he was set on [Vasiliy] Lomachenko,” said Lopez’s manager, David McWater. “We don’t know yet, but I suspect it’s the big room. We almost sold out the big room in December for Sandor Martin.”

Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) was set to meet Jack Catterall in a rematch on March 4, but the bout was postponed after Taylor tore a plantar fascia last month. The 32-year-old champion said he would be able to resume training in approximately six to eight weeks.

Boxxer, the U.K.-based promoter of the Taylor-Catterall rematch, failed to place rescheduling language in the contract, multiple sources said, which freed Taylor to move on to the Lopez bout. Boxxer spokesperson Matty Lawless tweeted that “our position at Boxxer is that we have a legally binding contract with Top Rank. Therefore we will not be making any further comment at this stage.”

“Further on down the line, Jack and me can still fight,” Taylor told Sky Sports last week. ” … This fight [vs. Lopez] is a much bigger fight than the Catterall fight … and it’s a harder fight. He is a much higher caliber of opponent. He has been at a higher level. He’s been in with better fighters. He’s done the business.”

Taylor defended his undisputed championship against Catterall last February in Scotland and emerged with a split-decision victory, but the judging was marred in controversy.

Taylor is a star in Scotland, and the matchup with Lopez was originally being explored for the U.K. Instead, Taylor will travel for his fifth fight in the U.S. His most-recent stateside was his career-best victory, a unanimous-decision win over Jose Ramirez in May 2021 to capture the undisputed championship. Taylor vacated three of his four belts to avoid mandatory challengers that would have prevented the rematch with Catterall.

“I think the Taylor side has become less enthusiastic about the rematch with Catterall,” said McWater. “For us, we were concerned about fighting over there [in the U.K.]. If we fight over there, you’ll watch it at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. It was really important to Teofimo not to do that. We want the eyeballs.

“Top Rank really listened to me this time. I think it’s a better fight over here.”

In a way, this a comeback bout for each fighter. Taylor has fought only once since he defeated Ramirez. And that victory over Catterall was one of the most controversial in years.

Lopez, among the most charismatic and talented young fighters in the game, lost the four belts he won from Lomachenko when he was defeated by George Kambosos at the Hulu Theater in ESPN’s 2021 Upset of the Year, and has been criticized for lackluster performances in his two fights at 140 pounds. His split-decision win over Sandor Martin was highly disputed.

Taylor and Lopez have been on a collision course for years as they’ve traded insults. Most recently, Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) vowed to knock Taylor out before he faced Martin.

“I’d tear him up, from the body to the head, he’s not going to know which one I’m going to hurt him with,” Lopez, who fights out of Las Vegas, told Sky Sports in December. “A lot of people would like to see me take on Josh Taylor, and I’ve been calling him out.

” … I actually will put him down better than what Catterall did. He won’t come back up, that’s all I can tell you.”

Lopez is rated No. 10 at junior welterweight by ESPN. Taylor is ESPN’s No. 2 junior welterweight.

Taylor must fully recover from yet another injury first. The plantar fascia connects the heel bone to the toes to create the arch of the foot, and tearing one is considered a highly painful injury.

Taylor and Lopez were both on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list at the same time before Lopez’s loss to Kambosos. Taylor, too, dropped off the list after the performance vs. Catterall.

Emanuel Navarrete Defeats Liam Wilson by TKO to Claim the Vacant WBO Junior Lightweight Title

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Emanuel Navarrete is celebrating a new title…

The 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer outlasted Liam Wilson in a back-and-forth slugfest on Friday night in Glendale, Arizona, to claim the vacant WBO junior lightweight title with a ninth-round TKO.

Navarrete was floored by the 8-1 underdog in Round 4 — the first knockdown of his career — but rallied to score a knockdown in Round 9 with a looping right hand. There were more than two minutes remaining in the round, and Navarrete didn’t waste any time.

With Wilson wobbling around the ring, blood pouring from his nose, Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) pinned him on the ropes and unloaded punches. The referee finally halted the ESPN main event at 1:57 of Round 9 with Wilson on his feet.

“This was an amazing victory because it tested me,” Navarrete, now a three-division champion, said in remarks translated from Spanish. “I needed to know that I was capable of going to the canvas, getting up, and come out with the victory, and now I know.”

Navarrete, who was ahead on all three scorecards (77-74, 76-75 and 77-74) entering Round 9, was campaigning at 130 pounds for the first time. He was originally slated to fight Oscar Valdez before his countryman withdrew with a rib injury.

Valdez, a former two-division champion, entered the ring afterward to set the stage for a highly anticipated showdown with Navarrete later this year. Valdez’s return is targeted for May, sources told ESPN, in a tuneup bout coming off the injury.

Navarrete, meanwhile, was able to escape a pivotal Round 4 to keep the Valdez payday intact. Wilson (11-2, 7 KOs) was given little shot to find any success but did so when he connected on a stinging left hook late in the round. A bundle of follow-up shots sent Navarrete to the canvas hard.

But in a wily maneuver, Navarrete spit out his mouthpiece to buy precious recovery time. The referee accommodated him as 27 seconds passed between the moment he touched the canvas and the resumption of the action.

“I’m disappointed, but I knocked him down in the fourth round, and I believe the count was a bit longer,” said Wilson, who trained in Washington D.C. with respected coach Barry Hunter. “I thought I won the fight in that sense because I think it was about a 20-second count. I’ll be back. Make no mistake about it.”

Wilson could regret how Round 5 played out. Navarrete was still on unsteady legs, but Wilson didn’t take advantage, perhaps fatigued from the knockdown sequence. By the end of the round, Navarrete clearly found his bearings. He was suddenly cracking Wilson with his awkward yet effective punches that seemingly came from all angles.

Navarrete continued to pour on punishment in Round 6, but Wilson responded with another counter left hook that rocked the favorite. Only this time, Navarrete didn’t go down.

He began to swarm with power punches as Wilson searched for one fight-ending shot that never materialized. When Round 7 ended, the sustained offense appeared to finally impact Wilson, who was visibly hurt.

Navarrete sensed the end was near, and over the final two rounds, continued to push forward with nonstop punches. He finally broke through in Round 9 when a right hand dropped Wilson.

The Australian never recovered his balance, and as Navarrete threw punch after punch, the referee halted the action and ended the scare for the A-side fighter.

Navarrete, ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 126 pounds, still holds the WBO featherweight title, but must formally decide which division he’ll campaign at moving forward.

Jessica Nery Plata Defeats Kim Clavel to Unify WBA/WBC Junior Flyweight Titles

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Nery Plata is a unified champion…

In the first major women’s bout of the new year, the 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer – who entered Friday’s fight as the WBA junior flyweight champion – is the unified champion after beating WBC titleholder Kim Clavel by unanimous decision.

Two judges scored it 97-93 and a third had it 96-94 after a fast-paced fight that had urgency in all 10 rounds.

Nery Plata (29-2, 3 KO) showed early on in Place Bell in Laval, Canada, that she would be willing to stand in and trade punches with Clavel. And it was her punches that did the most damage throughout the fight.

Nery Plata forced bleeding from Clavel’s nose in the fifth round and continued to reopen the bleeding on Clavel’s face throughout the latter half of the fight. Clavel’s face was swollen by the end of the fight. Nery Plata landed the more effective body shots as well.

Clavel (16-1, 3 KO) kept almost every round close, but Nery Plata seemed to often close each round with the stronger and more effective combinations, particularly using her right jab to set up everything else she was attempting to throw.

Nery Plata consistently caused more issues, including in the final round, when it looked like Nery Plata might have stunned Clavel as the two were exchanging punches in the center of the ring.

It was the eighth straight win for Nery Plata and first defense of the WBA title she won in March 2022, when she defeated Yesica Yolanda Bopp in Panama. It’s also the second straight fight Nery Plata has fought outside of her native Mexico, where she fought the first 29 fights of her professional career.

Nery Plata is the only current titleholder in the division; the WBO and IBF titles won by Yokasta Valle in November when she beat Evelin Bermudez have been vacated.

It was the first professional loss for Clavel, 32, who was making the first defense of her WBC title she won by defeating Yesenia Gomez last July.

Robeisy Ramirez to Fight Isaac Dogboe in April in Featherweight Bout

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

No April Fools’ joke… Robeisy Ramirez is heading back to the ring in April.

The 29-year-old Cuban professional boxer will face Isaac Dogboe in a featherweight bout with title implications on April 1 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to ESPN.

The Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ main event is expected to be contested for either the vacant WBO featherweight title or the interim belt.

Emanuel Navarrete, the WBO champion at 126 pounds, meets Liam Wilson on February 3 for the WBO’s vacant title at 130 pounds. Navarrete is expected to fight Oscar Valdez in a rescheduled 130-pound bout afterward but could always elect to return to 126.

Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba who broke out in 2022 with three victories, most notably a highlight-reel KO of Abraham Nova in June. He closed the campaign with a ninth-round TKO of Jose Matias Romero in October.

Dogboe (24-2, 15 KOs) is a former 122-pound champion who lost his title to Navarrete via decision in 2018. Navarrete scored a 12th-round TKO in the rematch the following year. Dogboe, 28, from Ghana, moved up to 126 pounds afterward and has won all four of his featherweight fights.

Those wins came over some recognizable names, including Adam Lopez, Christopher Diaz and most recently, Joet Gonzalez.

Dogboe is rated No. 10 by ESPN at featherweight. Ramirez and Dogboe are the top two available contenders in the WBO’s 126-pound ratings.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez to Fight Cristian Gonzalez for Vacant WBO Flyweight Title

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will be battling for another belt…

The 22-year-old Mexican American boxer will meet Cristian Gonzalez for the WBO‘s vacant flyweight title on April 8 in San Antonio, according to ESPN.

Rodriguez is ESPN’s No. 3 boxer at 115 pounds but revealed plans to move down one weight class following his September victory over Israel Gonzalez.

At 112 pounds, Rodriguez will chase his first full-fledged world title. He was the WBC titleholder at 115 pounds after Juan Francisco Estrada, the organization’s longtime champion, was bestowed franchise champion status.

Now, Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) will set up shop in a familiar weight class when he takes on Gonzalez, who has lost only once but has never competed outside his native Mexico.

Rodriguez, who is from San Antonio, broke out last year in a big way. He began his 2022 campaign with a decision victory over former champion Carlos Cuadras in February.

He followed up with an even more impressive victory, an eight-round TKO of longtime former champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Rungvisai owns wins over future Hall of Famers Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Estrada, and Rodriguez was able to pick him apart in a star-making performance.

After that victory, Rodriguez signed a long-term extension with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and returned with a decision win over Israel Gonzalez on the Canelo Alvarez–Gennadiy Golovkin 3 undercard.

Hearn hoped to match Rodriguez with Estrada and perhaps Chocolatito in 2023, but those plans are on hold for now while he campaigns at 112 pounds. (Rodriguez’s brother, Joshua Franco, retained his 115-pound title following a draw with Kazuto Ioka on December 31.)

The 23-year-old Gonzalez (15-1, 5 KOs) has never faced an opponent of significance.

Seniesa Estrada to Fight Tina Rupprecht in March

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Seniesa Estrada is headed back to the ring…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional boxer and WBA strawweight champion will make her first appearance of 2023 when she fights in a unification bout against WBC champion Tina Rupprecht, according to ESPN.

The fight is expected to take place in the United States with a targeted date of March 25 as a co-feature fight, according to ESPN.

It will be Estrada’s second fight for promoter Top Rank after splitting with Golden Boy Promotions last year. She last fought in November — after an 11-month layoff — beating Jazmin Gala Villarino by unanimous decision.

Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) will be making the third defense of her WBA strawweight title, which she won by defeating Anabel Ortiz in March 2021. Estrada, ESPN’s No. 8 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 strawweight, has also held the WBO junior flyweight title and the WBA interim flyweight title.

Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs) defeated Rocio Gaspar by unanimous decision on December 10. She has held the WBC title since 2018, and before that, the interim WBC crown. This will be the fifth defense of her non-interim world title.

Rupprecht’s best win came against current IBF and WBO strawweight titleholder Yokasta Valle by unanimous decision for the interim WBC title in 2018.

This would be the second time Rupprecht has fought outside her native Germany as a pro and the first time in the United States. She defeated Yana Denisova in Russia in 2016.

Amanda Serrano to Face Erika Cruz in Undisputed Featherweight Title Bout

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Serrano will be fighting for undisputed status in February…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, the current IBF, WBC and WBO featherweight titleholder, will face WBA champion Erika Cruz in an undisputed featherweight title fight, according to ESPN.

The fight between Serrano and Cruz will headline a card on February 4 at the Hulu Theater in New York City.

If Serrano wins, it will be the first time the seven-division titleholder would be an undisputed champion in a division, and she would be the first Puerto Rican undisputed champ, male or female.

Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KO) was last in the ring in September, when she beat Sarah Mahfoud by unanimous decision to win the IBF featherweight title. Serrano is ESPN’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter.

She fought twice last year, against Mahfoud and Katie Taylor, a split-decision loss at the big room of Madison Square Garden in what was named ESPN‘s women’s fight of the year in 2022.

Cruz (15-1, 3 KO), 35, won the WBA belt in April, 2021, when she beat Jelena Mrdjenovich by technical decision.

She since defended the title twice, beating Melissa Esquivel by split decision in 2021 and Mrdjenovich by unanimous decision in a rematch in September. Cruz suffered her only loss in 2016, a majority decision loss to Alondra Gonzalez Flores in a four-round fight in Cruz’s second career fight.

For all of Serrano’s accomplishments – and there have been many since she began fighting professionally in 2009 – she has never become an undisputed four-belt champion, something she would become should she beat Cruz.

This could be the beginning of a big year for Serrano, who has said she would like to face Katie Taylor in a rematch of an April fight that saw Taylor win a split decision over Serrano for Taylor’s undisputed lightweight titles.

But first, Serrano said, she knew she wanted to fight Cruz.

“After Cruz,” Serrano told ESPN recently. “It’s a great storyline. Undisputed versus undisputed champion, and of course it’s a different weight class, but it is what it is. The first fight was great, and I think the second fight would be even better.”

Serrano said she would go up to lightweight to fight Taylor a second time should that fight happen.

ESPN previously reported Ramla Ali is also expected to fight on the February 4 card.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: WBO