Valdez Preparing for a Tough Test in Gradovich
OSCAR VALDEZ wants to be a world champion, and he feels the need to prove that he is worthy of the opportunity sooner rather than later. He gets that opportunity April 9, when he faces the kind of challenge that will take him a long way to a shot at a title.
On April 9 at the MGM Grand of Las Vegas, Valdez a two-time Mexican Olympian and the No. 1 featherweight ranked by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), will take on former featherweight world champion Evgeny Gradovich on the UNDERCARD OF THE PACQUIAO-BRADLEY PAY-PER-VIEW.
“Gradovich is a tough challenge for me, but I feel that I am ready to face this kind of fighters. And I will show it on April 9. I have the hunger to prove myself against the best, and beating a former world champion like Gradovich will get me closer to the world title opportunity,” said Valdez. Since his debut in November 2012, Valdez has been working on developing his skills, and over the last yea,r as his level of competition has increase, his performances have been stellar.
“I believe that I gotten better, but I also know that I need to face good opposition in the ring to prove it. That’s what I want to do on April 9. This training camp has been longer than usual–but it has gone fast. The harder you work in the gym, the easier it will be on fight night,” said Valdez. Valdez, 24, who’s from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, has been training in Carson, California under Manny Robles, who has nothing but praise for his hard working pupil.
“Oscar is such a professional that it’s hard to believe he’s so young. He likes to work and puts the time in to get better. We sometimes have to rein him in, to slow him down. Come April 9, he will be ready to go into the ring and give it his all,” said Robles. This week Valdez had his first 12-round sparring session in this camp and felt good about going hard with two sparring partners, who’d put on a lot of pressure on him.
“That’s the kind of work I like. It keeps me on my toes and makes me work hard in there. The fight is only a month away, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think that Gradovich and I have the styles to give the fans a very entertaining fight,” said Valdez. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, the Pacquiao vs. Bradley world event will take place on Saturday, April 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.
Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley are priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254 and $154, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at MGMGRAND.COM or TICKETMASTER.COM.
Photo by Ismael Gallardo/RBRBoxing
