Miguel Berchelt and Oscar Valdez are setting a high bar for themselves.
The fighters, undoubtedly egged on by their promoters, are describing their fight on Saturday in Las Vegas as an all-Mexican matchup worthy of such classics as Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales or Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez.
And who knows? It might turn out that way.
However, there’s a reason Berchelt is a 4-1 favorite, which is a wide spread for boxing. Berchelt is one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound while Valdez is still trying to establish himself as one of the best in the business.
Berchelt (37-1, 33 KOs) is a superb boxer-puncher who slipped up in his 22nd fight – getting stopped by the forgettable Luis Florez in one round – but he has been virtually untouchable since then.
The 29-year-old resident of Merida is 16-0 (15 knockouts) after his setback, 17-0 if you count his fight in June that was not sanctioned. And he hasn’t been knocking off pushovers. During that stretch, he beat Francisco Vargas, Takashi Miura, Jonathan Barros, Miguel Roman, Vargas again and Jason Sosa.
Berchelt won his WBC 130-pound title in that first fight with Vargas, a classic brawl in 2017 that ended in a dramatic 11th-round knockout. He has successfully defended six times.
It’s one of the most impressive ongoing runs of any fighter in the world.
Berchelt has tight technique but he’s known for his power. Those 15 knockouts in his last 16 fights – against mostly top-tier talent – catches the eye. Power comes naturally but he’s also an unusually big 130-pounder, which adds to ability to hurt opponents.
And he seems to push himself unusually hard to realize the destiny he sees for himself. He’s not satisfied winning a world title or two. He thinks bigger than that.
“I believe when you dream, you have to dream big,” Berchelt told ESPN recently. “My first dream was to become a champion. I did that. Right now, I know that there’s another level, there’s a top level.”
Valdez (28-0, 22 KOs) is much farther from that top level than Berchelt.
That doesn’t mean he’s isn’t an elite fighter. He is. He’s a two-time Olympian who held the WBO featherweight title from 2016 to 2019, making six successful defenses. That’s impressive stuff.
The problem is that he hasn’t quite reached the highest echelons of the sport, as many expected of him. And he hasn’t looked particularly good in his last two fights, a decision over late replacement Adam Lopez (in which Valdez went down) in November 2019 and a 10th-round knockout of Jayson Velez last July.
Obviously, Valdez got the job done in both fights. He just didn’t look like a threat to someone like Berchelt in the process.
One possible reason for that is this: Those were his first two fights as a full-fledged junior lightweight. He might’ve been growing into the division, which begs the question: Is he still growing into the division?
If he is, that might not bode well for him against a beast like Berchelt.
Of course, Valdez has heard such talk. He knows what the odds are, he knows what people are saying. And he couldn’t care less. He has the confidence of a two-time Olympian and former world titleholder, even against Berchelt.
“Just because some expert or boxing analyst says somebody is going to lose doesn’t mean that’s going to happen,” he said on a conference call. “… I wake up every morning and visualize myself as a winner. I’ve always done that … [and] so far it has gone well.
“I know it’s not going to be an easy fight … but no opponent out there is invincible. That’s why I work hard, to prove everyone wrong and achieve my dream.”
We’ll see whose dream comes true.
[lawrence-related id=17858,10994,11995]
