Two of the top Mexican fighters will battle each other on Saturday for the WBC World Super Featherweight Title. Miguel Berchelt will defend his WBC title against former featherweight champion Oscar Valdez.
The fight will be televised on ESPN, and it is the first anticipated fight of the year. It’s always good when two top fighters in their prime face each other. In this case, when two Mexican fighters meet each other in the ring, it’s usually a good fight. We expect no different from these two fighters.
Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (37-1, 33 KO’s) of Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, is a seasoned pro. He is considered a boxer-puncher that throws good combinations with power.
Berchelt was introduced to American audiences in 2017 on HBO. He won the WBC World Super Featherweight title against the durable Francisco Vargas from Mexico. Berchelt beat and cut up Vargas, which prompted the referee to stop the fight in the eleventh round in an entertaining bout.
Since then, Berchelt has been an active champion and has already made six title defenses of his title. Some of his wins include Takashi Miura, Jonathan Barros, Miguel Roman, and Jason Sosa. Based on his resume and activity, this is why he is considered the number one fighter at super featherweight.
Now a new challenger has stepped up to the plate to fight Berchelt.
Oscar Valdez (28-0, 22 KO’s) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, is ready for that challenge. The former Olympian had an extensive amateur career. He was immediately signed with Top Rank, and he moved up the featherweight rankings quickly.
Valdez is also considered a boxer-puncher. In 2016, he won the WBO World Featherweight title with a second-round TKO over Matias Rueda. He made six title defenses of the title before moving to the super featherweight division. So far, he’s had two wins by stoppage in the division. Valdez now feels he is ready for the challenge.
Given the styles of both fighters, we should expect a war. The better boxer is Valdez, and he will need to box well throughout the entire fight to win. He should be a little quicker than Berchelt, and he is better on his feet.
Berchelt will have the size advantage as far as height and reach. Even though both guys have many stoppages in their careers, it is Berchelt with the power advantage.
Berchelt has stopped bigger men. I think Valdez will look to box and keep his distance, but once he gets hit, he tends to brawl. He will go to war with Berchelt. In past fights, we have seen Berchelt get the better of his opponents once they trade punches with him.
I see a late-round stoppage for Berchelt. I think this will be a case where a good big guy (Berchelt) will beat a good smaller guy (Valdez). Either way, we look towards an action-packed fight, and it should be good while it lasts.
