Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2: Tale of the Tape

Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez will meet for the second time in Phoenix, Arizona on December 7, with the latter hoping to gain revenge.

Navarette won the first meeting back in August 2023 via unanimous decision in what was an action-packed encounter.

Since then, Navarrette has fallen short in a bid to become a four-weight world champion as he lost via split decision when challenging for the vacant WBO lightweight crown against Denys Berinchyk.

Valdez has fought once since the last fight as he stopped Australian Liam Wilson in the seventh round to become interim WBO junior lightweight champion, earning him a chance at redemption against regular champion and fellow Mexican Navarette.

It's time to look at the 'Tale of the Tape'...

Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2 Tale of the Tape

Fighter Bio	Emanuel Navarrete	Oscar Valdez
Odds:	-280	+215
Age:	29	33
Nickname:	Vaquero	NA
Height:	5ft 7ins	5ft 5.5ins
Reach:	72ins	66ins
Weight:	Junior Lightweight	Junior Lightweight
Trainer:	Francisco Javier Orozco	Eddy Reynoso
Record:	39-2-1 (31 KOs)	32-2 (24 KOs)
Last Fight:	Lost - (SD) vs. Denys Berinchyk (May 18 2024)	Won- (TKO) v Liam Wilson (March 29 2024 2005)

Read Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2 fight date, ring walk time, how to watch, undercard & odds on site.

Emanuel Navarrete record

Navarette comes from a fighting family as his uncle and two of his cousins fought as professionals, and he put together a reported record of 108-7 in the amateurs before making his professional debut against Misael Ramirez in February 2012.

The San Juan Zitlaltepec-native built up a 25-1 record, with 22 wins coming inside the distance, over the course of the next six years to set up a first world title shot against the 20-0 Isaac Dogboe for the WBO super bantamweight strap.

Despite entering the contest as a clear underdog, Navarette won via unanimous decision but there was a hint of controversy as he was sent to the canvas in the ninth round but no knockdown was called. An immediate rematch took place and the Mexican won convincingly, with Dogboe’s corner throwing in the towel in the final round.

Vaquero defended the title five times before stepping up to featherweight and he became a two-weight champion in 2020 by outpointing the previously unbeaten Ruben Villa to land the vacant WBO title.

In 2023, Navarette made another move up to junior lightweight and stopped Liam Wilson in the ninth to become a three-division champion.

Valdez was his next victim in August of 2023 in a memorable all-Mexican affair. Navarette used his size and reach to dominate the opening rounds before Valdez enjoyed some success in the middle of the fight.

The 10th round became a war as both men went for it and in the end Navarette’s power made a difference, as he was able to control the championship rounds to record an fairly wide margin of victory.

However, that was Navrette’s last win as he has since drawn with Robson Conceicao and then lost to Berinchyk when attempting to win a title at lightweight. 

Strengths	Weaknesses
Size	No wins in last two fights
Power	Can be reckless
Left uppercut

Oscar Valdez record

Oscar Valdez enjoyed a distinguished amateur career as he qualified for the Olympic Games in 2008, losing out to eventual gold medal winner Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan in the first round, and again in 2012.

He turned professional after his second appearance at the Olympics and in November 2021 he secured a second round TKO win over Angel Prado in his debut.

After putting together an 18-0 record, he faced former IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich and sent out a statement with a fourth round TKO win over the Russian.

Valdez challenged the undefeated Argentine Matias Rueda in his next bout and landed his first world title, as in the days before the fight took place it was announced that the vacant WBO featherweight title would be on the line.

The Nogales-native knocked Rueda down twice in the second round before winning via TKO. He defended that title six times and claimed some memorable wins, recovering from a knockdown to beat Genesis Servania and prevailing against Scott Quigg despite suffering a broken jaw.

In 2021 Valdez became a two-weight world champion as he won the WBC junior lightweight title by stopping Miguel Berchelt in the 10th round. He defended the title against Robson Conceicao, but was outpointed by Shakur Stevenson in his next assignment when attempting to become a unified champion.

Valdez responded by beating Adam Lopez in a rematch but then fell short against Navrette, and his last bout was his TKO win over Wilson earlier this year. 

Strengths	Weaknesses
Strong counterpuncher	Power
Head movement	Reach
Footwork	Lost last fight

Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.