Oscar Valdez falls to his knees in celebration after his seventh round TKO over Liam Wilson Friday at Desert Diamond Arena (Photo by Joe Eigo/Cronkite News)
GLENDALE – After the bell sounded to initiate the seventh round, Oscar Valdez saw an opportunity and capitalized, landing a wave of heavy hits and finally defeating Liam Wilson by way of a technical knockout under the bright lights of Desert Diamond Arena.
For Valdez, there could not have been a better venue to succeed given his heritage from Mexico and Arizona.
“(Arizona) is my home,” Valdez said. “I was born in Nogales (Mexico), but I did my elementary school here in Tucson. I made a lot of great friends, most of my family members are still here … of course I’ve got a great relationship with Arizona, I love it.”
Valdez said that rather than feeling pressured or nervous, he chooses the positive mindset of being motivated by the presence of family members and friends surrounding him and cheering him on.
The crowd was most certainly cheering Friday night in Glendale for the main event that featured Valdez and Wilson squaring off for the World Boxing Organization interim junior lightweight world championship title.
Liam Wilson looks focused during introductions for his interim title bout with Oscar Valdez. The bout was close until the seventh round, when Valdez attacked with a combination of devastating punches. (Photo by Joe Eigo/Cronkite News)
Both Valdez and Wilson entered the match with a notable shared defeat. Each had lost to Emanuel Navarrete. However, Wilson still had the bad taste in his mouth from knocking Navarrete to the floor, failing to get the knockout, and letting the title slip from his hands on Feb. 3, 2023.
“I won the belt that night, I didn’t get awarded it,” Wilson said. “That’s just the way life played out for me.”
Each fighter had more than enough motivation to engage in an all-out “war” in the ring as Wilson called it.
The bout was close the whole way, and Wilson seemed to be tiring Valdez out, throwing more punches in each of the first six rounds. It was the sound of the seventh bell that must have flipped a switch in Valdez.
In the blink of an eye it seemed, Wilson switched to punch with his left hand, opening up his body to Valdez and allowing for a devastating hit. The ensuing moments consisted of Valdez throwing a combination of devastating punches. As Wilson began to fall, the TKO victory was awarded to Valdez.
“We practiced that shot. We knew he was going to turn southpaw,” Valdez said after the fight. “We’re studying so much. That’s what happens when you watch a lot of film.”
Valdez feels that the boxing culture in Arizona today is just as potent and passionate as he remembers from his time as a young boxing fan living in the area. Other undercard fighters on Friday seemed to agree.
“I love Arizona, all my beautiful Mexican fans here, ‘La Phoenix guerra,’” Emiliano Fernandez Vargas said after defeating Nelson Hampton. “I appreciate all the love.”
In terms of fighters whom Valdez admired as a kid growing up in Arizona, two came to mind: one from each place that Valdez called home.
Valdez specifically remembered visiting Desert Diamond Arena in his youth to watch Nogales boxer David ‘Destroyer’ Lopez fight. At around the same time period. Valdez also remembered watching Norberto ‘Nito’ Bravo, who was a Tucson native.
Oscar Valdez throwing a jab during his bout with Liam Wilson. Capturing the interim junior lightweight world championship title was a significant moment in his career. (Photo by Joe Eigo/Cronkite News)
“I can’t always imitate (the style of past fighters) right now, but what I do try to imitate is their heart inside the ring,” Valdez said. “When I’m inside the ring, I look at my younger self visualizing the fighter that I am right now. How would I want to look at myself? As a warrior, as my idols.”
The term “warrior,” is not a title given to just any fighter and for Valdez to be described in the same breath as his role models all these years later is an emotional feeling.
“Boxing fans are a little cruel. They’re the hardest to convince,” Valdez said. “You can have speed, strength, and stamina, but if you don’t have that last checkmark, being called a ‘warrior,’ in my eyes you’re just an OK fighter.”
When looking back on his most important fights, Valdez highlighted March 10, 2018 when he battled Scott Quigg to defend his WBO featherweight title for the fourth time.
“For this fight I did the hard part of my training in Guadalajara, and I think it has been one of the best preparations of my career because I trained so calmly and so peacefully,” Valdez told Top Rank.
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The vicious fight that ensued provided a stark contrast to any serenity that Valdez materialized as a tough blow from Quigg left Valdez with a broken jaw in the fifth round. When it was over, CompuBox tallied 914 total punches thrown by Valdez compared to just 595 from Quigg. The judges unanimously scored in Valdez’s favor.
“Every single shot, which was a lot, was very painful,” Valdez said. “But quitting and losing was never an option.”
On that day, Valdez truly felt that he checked off ‘warrior’ status.
The 11-year pro was the first ever Mexican boxer to compete in two separate Olympics, with his first being in Beijing in 2008 before fighting again in London in 2012.
Now Valdez, 33, looks to pay it forward as he continues his boxing career, acknowledging how important it is for the next generation to have fighting idols to look up to in the same way that he did. His hope is that prospective boxers not only focus on his success but also heed his advice.
“The one thing I told a lot of these kids is, ‘Look for the dream, not the money,’” Valdez said.
Despite his most recent success, Valdez has his sights set on bigger and better opponents, always looking to improve along his path to legendary status in the hallowed halls of great Mexican fighters.
“If I retired today, I accomplished nothing,” Valdez said. “I want to leave a good legacy, I want to be one of the greats. That’s my dream, and this is just another step.”
