Oscar Valdez has big plans if he wins on November 30!
Days before they let their fists fly at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, former two-weight world champion Carl “The Jackal” Frampton and former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez paid a surprise holiday visit to Opportunity Village, a nonprofit serving Southern Nevadans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Frampton and Valdez toured the campus Tuesday morning, held a meet-and-greet with Opportunity Village clients, and visited the renowned and newly renovated Magical Forest.
In separate 10-round super featherweight bouts, Valdez will make his division debut against former world title challenger Andres Gutierrez, while Frampton will battle the unbeaten American Tyler McCreary (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).
Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) is coming off nearly a one-year absence from the ring, as his planned August comeback bout was postponed after a freak accident at the fight hotel left him with a broken hand. Valdez (26-0, 20 KOs) made six defenses of his WBO featherweight world title before moving up to seek challenges against the likes of Frampton and WBC world champion Miguel Berchelt.
This is what Valdez had to say about his upcoming bout and his visit to Opportunity Village.
Oscar Valdez
On moving up to 130
“Making weight won’t be as difficult for me at 130 pounds. It won’t be easy, but not as hard as it was when I was fighting at 126. I have more energy in the gym and I feel healthy, which is the most important thing. You’ll see the difference in my fight Saturday against Andres Gutierrez.”
“I’ve been fighting at 126 my whole career, so it’s a long time coming. My last camps were more about cutting weight rather than training. It wasn’t healthy for me. I wasn’t eating much two, three days before the weigh-ins, so now I am in a much healthier position.”
On the future
“I want to fight Miguel Berchelt. Listen, there’s no personal beef there, but I feel like he’s the top guy at 130 pounds. I want to fight the best, and Berchelt is the best. I’m only focused on Gutierrez for now, but I also visualize the future.”
On Saturday’s fight
“Fans know I always give 100 percent in the ring, so you can expect a great battle on Saturday night. Andres Gutierrez is a tough guy who cannot be overlooked.”
On the visit to Opportunity Village
“Seeing this makes everyone want to be a better person and try and help our loved ones. If we can, why not support the great people at Opportunity Village? I thank them for their hospitality.”
ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
- Oscar Valdez vs. Andres Gutierrez, 10 rounds, super featherweight
- Carl Frampton vs. Tyler McCreary, 10 rounds, super featherweight
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT
- Carlos Adames vs. Patrick Teixeira, 12 rounds, interim WBO junior middleweight world title
- Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. William Silva, 10 rounds, Barboza’s Jr. NABF super lightweight title
- Adam Lopez vs. Luis Coria, 10 rounds, Lopez’s Jr. NABF featherweight title
- Guido Vianello vs. Colby Madison, 6 rounds, heavyweight
- Andy Hiraoka vs. Rogelio Casarez, 8 rounds, super lightweight
- Brian Mendoza vs. Larry Gomez, 8 rounds, welterweight
Swing Bouts
- Xander Zayas vs. Virgel Windfield, 4 rounds, welterweight
- Jared Anderson vs. Stephen Kirnon, 4 rounds, heavyweight
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Queensberry Promotions and MTK Global, tickets priced at $100, $85, $65, $45 and $20 (general admission) are available online at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or through Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000.
For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.
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