The Top Rank card on Tuesday is long on number of fights (seven) and story lines.
Oscar Valdez faces Jayson Velez in a 10-round junior lightweight bout, Valdez’s second at 130 pounds, inside the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas. The former 126-pound titleholder struggled in his first junior lightweight before scoring a seventh-round knockout over Adam Lopez this past November.
Was Valdez’s performance an aberration or a sign that he might have problems at 130 and above?
Edgar Berlanga carries one of the most-eye catching streaks in the sport into his eight-round middleweight fight against Eric Moon (11-2, 6 KOs): The New York City slugger has stopped all 13 of his opponents in the first round.
Kim Clavel (11-0, 2 KOs), who faces Natalie Gonzalez (6-0, 1 KO) in an eight-round junior flyweight bout, won the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPY Awards for dropping everything and caring for the elderly during the coronavirus pandemic.
And Issac Dogboe (20-2, 14 KOs) was a fast-rising star as recently as late 2018 but his momentum screeched to a halt as a result of back-to-back losses to Emanuel Navarrete in his two most-recent fights, the second by knockout.
Can he bounce back? The former 122-pound titleholder faces Chris Avalos (27-7, 20 KOs) in an eight-round 126-pound fight.
On top of that, two intriguing prospects are on the card. Heavyweight Guido Vianello, a 2016 Olympian from Italy, returns to the ring against Kingsley Ibeh in a six-round bout. Vianello has stopped all seven of his opponents. And Elvis Rodriguez (7-0-1, 7 KOs), who is trained by Freddie Roach, faces Dennis Okoth (4-3-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round junior welterweight fight.
Also, Raphael Igbokwe (14-2, 6 KOs) fights Genc Pllana (8-1-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-round super middleweight fight, a rematch of their fight in August. Igbokwe won a majority eight-round decision.
Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) is the star of the show.
The Los Angeles-based native of Mexico was a 126-pound titleholder from 2016 to last year, when he moved up in weight. He made six consecutive defenses, thereby establishing himself as one of the more respected fighters in the business.
Valdez went down against the capable Lopez but rallied to take control. He now has his sights set on 130-pound titleholder Miguel Berchelt, who is on some pound-for-pound lists.
However, he first must get past Velez (29-6-1, 21 KOs). The Puerto Rican was once a hot prospect but lost four consecutive fights in 2015-16 and never reached the top tier of the sport. He is coming off a split-decision loss to Jaime Arboleda in February.
“Against Velez I will not be able to take that fight lightly,” Valdez told EFE. “He has several defeats, but that does not mean anything because he has lost against world champions like Ronny Ríos, Joseph Diaz and Rene Alvarado. … When you face such high quality opponents you can lose, but he is a great boxer.”
He went on: “I am anxious, it has been a long time since my last fight. It is a blessing to have the opportunity to get into the ring because with the pandemic not everyone can return to their sport. Boxing has already opened back up, and I have an opportunity to do what I like the most.
“A lot of people want to see my fight against Bertchelt, but right now I’m not thinking about it. I am focused on Velez. If I can hurt him at the beginning of the fight, I will look to finish him quickly. It would be the ideal not to wear myself out, although it will be a difficult fight
