Oscar Valdez is steeled for war ahead of his potential fight of the year contender against WBC super-featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on February 20.
But, already pegged as a 5/2 betting underdog by the bookmakers, the unbeaten Valdez has stated that losing is not an option.
The bout between the heavy-handed Berchelt (38-1, 34 KOs) and former WBO 126lbs king Valdez has evoked memories of the great all-Mexican bouts of yesteryear. As the hype builds, the champion from Cancun has vowed to severely test Valdez’s jaw, which was broken in a barnburner with Scott Quigg back in March 2018.
Yet the Eddy Reynoso-trained Valdez (28-0, 22 KOs) feels he is equally capable of delivering a knockout against a fighter he respects and has been on friendly terms with since their amateur days in Mexico.
“Berchelt says he is going for the knockout, I’m not going to crack, but the knockout could show up for the other side,” Valdez told journalist Javier Cordoso.
“It will be a tough fight but not impossible. In my corner is my father and Eddy Reynoso. When two Mexicans get into a ring there is always going to be a show. I am in the position to provide a good fight.
“During history, a lot of Mexicans have given great fights like Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricardo Lopez. I dream of being a WBC champion, I train in parks and wherever I can, sometimes running, but I try to prepare as good as possible.
“[Alfredo] Caballero is a great trainer [of Berchelt], but this is not a fight between trainers, it is not Caballero going against Reynoso, it is Miguel Berchelt against Oscar Valdez. In this fight here, friendship goes out the window and losing is not an option for me.”