Mexico’s Oscar Valdez came out victorious over Australian Liam Wilson live from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on Friday, March 29. The pair squared off in the 12-round main event bout with the interim WBO junior lightweight title on the line.
The contest didn’t go the full distance. Half way through the fight Valdez dominated Wilson with a barrage of punches, forcing referee Mark Nelson to step in and save the latter from further punishment. The official time was 2 minutes and 48 seconds into the seventh round.
With the victory by TKO, two-division world champion Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) landed the belt in his new weight class to become the interim WBO junior lightweight titleholder. He also rebounded from the defeat against full champion Emanuel Navarrete last August. Earlier in his career the 33-year-old native of Nogales, Sonora held the WBC junior bantamweight and WBO featherweight titles.
“This victory means a lot,” Valdez said post-fight. “I proved a lot of people wrong again. People said ‘You’re thirty-something. You’re done. You got your jaw broken. You got your rib broken.’ But I refused to believe that.
“I told him [Liam] to not give up. I lost as well. It doesn’t mean you’re done in the sport. I’m a good example. He almost got me. He almost got ‘Vaquero’. He almost became a world champion. I have nothing but respect for Liam Wilson and his team.”
28-year-old Liam Wilson (13-3, 7 KOs) of Redcliffe, Queensland, who nearly dethroned Navarrete last February, got his two-fight winning streak snapped.
“That’s how boxing goes,” Wilson said. “I tried to box in the first few rounds, but my heart got the better of me. These are the kind of fights I dreamed of since I was a kid. But, I’ve got to learn from this and start using my boxing brain.”
“Oscar is a true champion, and I’m very proud to have shared the ring with him. It’s still early in my career. I have plenty to go. I’m young. I’ll be back.”
In the co-feature on the card Seniesa Estrada defeated Yokasta Valle by unanimous decision to become the first undisputed minimumweight champion.