A streak of multiple boxing events per week comes to an end as Top Rank’s current run in the “bubble” in Las Vegas concludes Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN) with one of their best cards to date. In the main event, Oscar Valdez takes on Jayson Velez in a junior lightweight fight that serves as the final get-right fight for Valdez before he takes on WBC champ Miguel Berchelt.
Valdez (27-0, 21 KO) is a former WBO champion at featherweight — a title he successfully defended six times — and historically is an all-action brawler, willing to take a shot to give one in return. Though, in recent fights, he has been trying to slip into the role of boxer rather than brawler, a decision largely driven by a brutal war with Scott Quigg in March 2018 that saw Valdez lose teeth and suffer a broken jaw.
Transitioning to slick boxing has not been easy for Valdez, however. That was evident in his most recent fight, as late replacement opponent Adam Lopez cracked Valdez and dropped him to the canvas early in their clash, a knockdown that came as Valdez was trying to slickly duck and dodge punches while standing flat-footed in punching range. Flipping the switch back to action-first, Valdez was able to roar back before scoring a stoppage in the seventh round of his move to junior lightweight.
Velez (29-6-1, 21 KO) is a capable boxer and formerly was considered a legit Puerto Rican prospect. He’s been in with plenty of legitimate opponents but never truly broke through. He is, to put it simply, “an opponent” at this point in his career, but one with enough skills to score an upset if Valdez enters the ring unprepared.
Read on for the full card and odds via William Hill Sportsbook.
Valdez vs. Velez card, odds
|
Oscar Valdez -2000 |
Jayson Velez +1000 |
Junior lightweight |
|
Edgar Berlanga |
Eric Moon |
Super middleweight |
|
Isaac Dogboe |
Chris Avalos |
Featherweight |
|
Genc Pllana -220 |
Raphael Igbokwe +180 |
Super middleweight |
|
Kim Clavel |
Natalie Gonzalez |
Flyweight |
|
Elvis Rodriguez |
Dennis Okoth |
Junior welterweight |
Prediction
Velez is at a stage in his career where he’s the opponent who gets a few wins to be brought in and lose to an A-side fighter. This fight should follow that script. Valdez has a huge fight waiting if he gets through Velez, and that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Luckily, Valdez is a fun fighter basically every time he steps in the ring and it should be a fun watch before he eventually overwhelms and stops Velez. Pick: Valdez via TKO6
