This Saturday nightย live on ESPN, Oscar Valdez defends his featherweight belt against former 122-pound titleholder Scott Quigg. On paper Quigg is the most experienced fighter Oscar has met, having faced Carl Frampton and Kiko Martinez at super bantamweight. The style matchup and StubHub Center venue should make this an entertaining scrap.
Prior to 2017, lots of people spoke about Valdez as one of the top young prospects in the game. His work to the body and power punching made for a canโt miss future champion. Although Valdez did become a 126-pound belt-holder, he has yet to face a top-level operator like a Leo Santa Cruz.
When news broke about this bout happening, many media members were surprised. Top Rank is taking a calculated risk here, instead of moving their young fighter laterally by giving him a stay busy opponent.ย After two difficult outings in a row, a lot is riding on Oscar Valdez to prove his worth.
Last April, Valdez went life and death with Miguel Marriaga in an action-packed brawl that unfortunately few saw because it was on a Top Rank PPV. Valdezโs was forced to come up with a plan โBโ after some hard-fought rounds. Oscar used his outside movement and quick combination punching just to scrape by. Marriaga did have several big moments, even hurting Valdez on a few occasions.
The general public perception heading into Valdezโs last opponent in September was seen as a stay busy against Genesis Servania. Servania was greatly overlooked as a guy with a glossy unbeaten record that seemed empty. By the end of his fight with Valdez, Genesis had hit the canvas but also hurt and dropped Valdez in an all-out slugfest.
In walks a real step up in Scott Quigg, whose only loss came from a highly thought of boxer in his own right, Carl Frampton. Two springs ago, Quigg fell short in defeat to Frampton. Itโs hard to fully judge Quigg, who broke his jaw in the early goings, yet still managed to make a decent run in the second half.
Quigg attacks fighters to the body and is at his best throwing flurries. His bad habit of starting slow will need to be fixed versus Valdez. Quigg has also shown to have some outside boxing skills to an extent when he circles and uses his jab.
As previously mentioned, on paper this should be entertaining and at times explosive fight with both men landing flush. A body punch will likely change momentum within an individual round if not the fight. Look for both guys to start at a somewhat measured pace. Oscar will use his jab and pivot away, as he combos in quick-rapid-fire-fashion to get the advantage on the judgeโs scorecards.
Like most of these two menโs past fights, a brawl will no doubt break out. Thatโs where Quigg has to make his punches count, especially to the body. Valdez will look to move and thatโs where Quigg will need to cut the ring off. Hurting and scoring a knockdown is definitely a must for Quigg.
A key factor for Quigg will be how much power he brings up to featherweight. If itโs similar to what he had at 122, Valdez could be in some serious trouble. Oscarโs defense is suspect but so is Quiggโs and neither guy has true one-punch KO power, which equates to lots of punches being thrown and landed.
Donโt be surprised if the sentiment post-fight is Quigg won the fight. However, Valdez will once again have to dig deep to get this respected victory of Quigg. Valdez mixes brawling and boxing doing just enough sway the powers that be.
Side Note: The co-feature is a stern test for Andy Vendes as he takes on Erik De Leon in a 10-round contest. Vences will use his length and outside abilities to win, thatโs if he can take De Leonโs power. Boxing fans set your DVR for at least an extra 30 minutes if not an hour longer on ESPN due to the ACC tournament & maybe record on ESPN News as the alternative channel for early bouts.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available on Apple Podcast (ITunes), Player.FM, Stitcher, Tunein, Spreaker, www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio & TheGruelingTruth.Net. Follow on Twitterย @RopeADopeRadio
If you enjoy hearing from the legends of pro sports, then be sure to tune into โThe Grueling Truthโ sports shows, โWhere the legends speakโ
Contact us: [email protected]
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.