Photo by Ismael Gallardo/RBRBoxing
After a stellar amateur career that included two visits to the Summer Olympics–in 2008 and 2012–Oscar Valdez (15-0, 14 KOs) debuted as a professional in November of 2012.
The native of Sinaloa, Mexico has since knocked out 14 out of 15 opponents, and has slowly made a name for himself under the auspice of Top Rank Promotions.
“I have progressed a lot since my first fight as a professional,” said Oscar Valdez at a recent media workout ahead of his June 27 fight against Ruben Tamayo (25-5-4, 17 KOs), which will be on the undercard of Bradley-Vargas at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA.
The scheduled 10-round fight–Valdez’s first–will be his HBO debut, and the televised portion of the card begins at 9:45pm ET.
Valdez, 24, also said that he is ready to take a big step in his career.
“Hopefully, this year I can crack the top ten of the world and prepare for an opportunity to fight for a world title,” said Valdez.
A win over Ruben Tamayo, who is also a native of Sinaloa, Mexico, may put him on his way, but Valdez knows it is a big test for his career.
“I have studied him. I have seen him fight, and he has fought for a world title,” said Valdez, “I know he’s a boxer who leaves it all in the ring.”
“But,” Valdez added, “I know I do a great job in the ring and I’m going at this at 100%.”
The Featherweight Division
Cracking the Top-10 of the Featherweight division isn’t an easy thing to do.
Titleholders at 126 include Gary Russell Jr., Jesus Cuellar, Vasyl Lomachenko–who Valdez fought in the amateurs–and Lee Selby.
Nicholas Walters, who recently lost his WBA title on the scales last Saturday, is also considered one of the best Featherweights in the world, though it is uncertain whether he will stay in the division.
Abner Mares, who has has been trying to regain his status in the Featherweight division after getting knocked out by Jhonny Gonzalez in 2013, is also in the top-ten.
Does Valdez have what it takes to crack the top-ten this year? Let us know in the comments section.
