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WBO Featherweight Titlist Oscar Valdez Reloads

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Oscar Valdez

WBO featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez returns after a year due to injury and he’s reloaded with a new training team.

But will he be fully loaded?

Valdez (24-0, 19 KOs) faces his first test when he meets undefeated Carmine Tommasone (19-0) at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas on Saturday Feb. 2. The Top Rank card will be televised by ESPN.

Nearly 11 months have passed since Valdez engaged in a brutal slugfest with a vastly overweight Scott Quigg in an outdoor arena. It was a cold rainy day not fit for prizefighting but the show must go on.

Despite the weight differences – some say Quigg walked in as a super welterweight but it was never proven because he refused to be weighed the day of the fight – Valdez accepted the fight and the Mexican fighter emerged the winner but at a cost of a broken jaw.

Valdez spent days in the hospital just waiting to get treated and months with a wired jaw. His manager and team quickly decided a new tact and strategy was needed to keep the Mexican world champion on track.

“After looking over his last three fights I had been noticing his defense was lacking. Those fights were all tough fights. I thought it was about time to make a change. Now that Oscar is a champion it’s a perfect time to train with a different trainer like Eddy Reynoso,” said Frank Espinoza who manages Valdez. “It was my idea but at the end of the day I had to consult with the team and met with Eddy and set up a meeting with Oscar and he was ready to move forward. It was my decision but I ran it by him.”

Other acclaimed Southern California-based trainers wondered why Valdez was not offered to them, but what separated Reynoso from the others was that he trains Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and a small number of fighters. It meant more time for Valdez.

“I was impressed with Canelo and I also noticed he didn’t have that many fighters. I needed somebody to devote his special time to Oscar. He was able to comply with that,” said Espinoza. “Talking to Eddy it was very easy and he was on board. He wanted to make Oscar a better fighter.”

After both parties agreed Valdez flew to Guadalajara to train with Reynoso for two weeks. Then the camp moved to San Diego. Training with Alvarez, who is regarded as the top attraction in the prizefighting world, has been eye-opening, especially after his performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“The adrenaline was so crazy. He didn’t believe there are so many Mexicans in New York. You could hear everybody roaring for him. It was a real good positive feeling,” said Espinoza. “It goes to show you a lot of people follow Canelo.”

It’s been more than 17 weeks training in San Diego under the guidance of Reynoso and Team Canelo. It’s also been a new experience for Valdez and his team.

“I saw some things he was doing, more head movement, side to side, more of a thinking fighter and I think he wasn’t so in a rush,” said Espinoza about the changes in Valdez style. “That can all change when he gets hit. But I like a lot of things like when he comes off the ropes.”

Recovered

Valdez said his jaw has recovered and he’s ready to defend his world title.

“It’s been great training with Eddy. He’s not only worked on the things I’m good at, but he’s added a new element to my game. I know I can improve my defense while still being the same action fighter that fans are used to seeing,” he said.

Valdez will be facing an unbeaten Italian fighter who likes to hit and hold.

Tommasone is eager to prove he can fight.

“I’m confident in my skills, and this is an opportunity to show my skills,” said Tommasone who is based in Avellino, Italy. “Winning a title in the United States is every boxer’s dream. It would be a great opportunity.”

It’s not unnoticed by Valdez that Tommasone is unbeaten.

“He is a tough, undefeated fighter, and I know I have to be 100 percent ready. Camp has gone great, and after a long time off, I can’t wait to fight again,” Valdez said.

Before the injury to the jaw Valdez was on pace to light up the featherweight division and bring his style of Mexican boxing to the forefront. He was already a crowd-pleaser and a busy world titlist with four defenses since winning it in November 2016.

“I can’t wait to show the fans a new Oscar Valdez on Feb. 2,” said Valdez.

Reynoso, who will be in Valdez’s corner for the first time, expects good results.

“Working with a world champion and an athlete that works as hard as Oscar does is a proud moment for me to be part of that team,” said Reynoso.

It’s been a long road back for Valdez.

“It was one of the most difficult times of my life. Having my jaw wired shut for two months was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with. That’s in the past now. I’m ready to focus on this fight,” said Valdez. “It’s been almost a year since my last fight.”

And it’s been a year to prepare and reload.

ESPN will televise at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

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In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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