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LAS VEGAS – Many expected Saturday’s WBC junior lightweight title fight between Miguel Berchelt and Oscar Valdez to be a back-and-forth between two Mexican warriors. The violence turned out to be mainly one-way traffic.
Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs), a two-time former Olympian, scored a major setback against Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) at MGM Grand, knocking out Berchelt with a left hook in the last second of the 10th tower.
Valdez, who entered the fight as an over-240 underdog, won the WBC title from Berchelt and claimed the biggest victory of his professional career.
The superb kickoff might have eclipsed the fact that the much smaller Valdez dominated the fight. He scored knockouts in the fourth and 10th rounds and was well ahead of the three judges’ scorecards by the time of the finish.
The judges had Valdez, who was born in Mexico but raised in Arizona, ahead by scores of 89-80, 88-81 and 87-82.
Berchelt, whose only other professional loss came via TKO in 2014, lay on his back on the canvas for several minutes but was eventually able to sit and stand with help.
Left hook and jab were Valdez’s weapons of choice, as he played a very skillful and vicious matador in the face of Berchelt’s bullfighting aggression. He had Berchelt badly in the first round, as he came in and out with the jab, then surprised him with the left hook on top. Berchelt looked like he wanted to counter with his signing power, but he never seemed comfortable with Valdez’s skill and speed.
In the third round, Berchelt more or less pursued Valdez in the ring. The third round ended with Berchelt chasing after him and rushing forward with shots.
While that wasn’t the strategy Berchelt came out with, he has had his moments. He scored with powerful punches to Valdez’s body, and it looked like he could turn the tide in the seventh, as Valdez had tied him up several times to slow the pace.
But in the eighth, Valdez returned to his efficient jab work, and he missed Berchelt down the ropes.
The 10th round was brilliant for Valdez as it opened up to combinations and allowed the referee to take a close look at Berchelt. The left walking hook turned out to be a suitable end.
Valdez topped Berchelt 149-99 in aggregate and 103-64 in power, according to CompuBox.
The win, which is Valdez’s third consecutive appearance at 130 pounds, could set up a junior lightweight title fight between Valdez and Top Rank’s Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs), who was present in the “bubble. “Saturday and has expressed interest in Valdez. Top Rank president Todd DuBoef has said he would love to set up a fight between the two undefeated junior lightweights.
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