Miguel Berchelt was a major 130-pound titleholder and one of the most-feared sluggers going into his last fight. Now the Mexican is starting over at 30.
That’s the result of Oscar Valdez’s demolition of his countryman, who went down three times and was stopped in 10 one-sided rounds early last year in “The Bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
After the disaster, Berchelt went up to 135, moved to Las Vegas to work with a new trainer (Jorge Capetillo) and has focused on the future.
He’ll face Jeremiah Nakathila of Namibia in his first lightweight bout Saturday at Resorts World Las Vegas (DAZN).
“This will be a great comeback,” Berchelt said. “I am very happy and excited to be the first athlete to bring a sporting event to Resorts World Las Vegas. I am ready to make my debut at 135 pounds against a great opponent like Jeremiah Nakathila.
“I’m going to put on a spectacular show for my people, and I’m sending a message to the lightweight division: They must contend with me.”
Well, that remains to be seen. The division is still stacked with the likes of George Kambosos Jr., Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) obviously still believes in himself. And why not? He had won his previous 17 fights going into the Valdez bout, 16 by knockout. And he wasn’t beating bums. Among his victims: Cristobal Cruz, Francisco Vargas (twice), Takashi Miura and Jonathan Victor Barros.
Indeed, he had known nothing but great success for seven years.
That doesn’t mean a fresh start won’t be helpful after a major disappointment, though. He evidently is convinced a change of scenery will be good for him.
“The experience of changing my training camp to Las Vegas with coach Jorge Capetillo has been very good,” he said. “In this city, there are many champions, and I think that God brought me here for a reason. There are many styles of sparring partners, which I was not able to find in Mexico. It has also been a great experience to run up Mount Charleston.
“I think all these changes are for the best, and we are ready to return to the ring with a big win.”
And he hopes the fight against Nakathila (22-2, 18 KOs) will be the first step toward regaining the status he lost against Valdez.
“My goal is to become world champion at lightweight,” he said. “It will not be easy because I know that at 135 pounds there are a lot of great fighters. Most importantly, I have the desire and the potential to be crowned once again as world champion.”