Emanuel Navarrete knocks out Oscar Valdez in sixth round of WBO super-featherweight title rematch

Emanuel Navarrete knocked out Oscar Valdez in the sixth round of their WBO super-featherweight title rematch on Saturday to retain his belt.

Back in August 2023, Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) won via unanimous decision against Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) in a back-and-forth slugfest in front of 10,246 fans at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

In that encounter, Navarrete’s reach and punch output were difficult puzzles for Valdez to solve. The native of Nogales, Mexico, tried to find openings for counterpunches from his high-guard stance, using his head and feet to avoid Navarrete’s sudden bursts of combos.

This time, Navarrete was even more ruthless and Valdez found the canvas on three separate occasions before being knocked out in the sixth.

He first hit the deck at the end of the opening round when shocked with a combination from Navarrete. This was then followed in round four when a right hand startled Valdez.

Just a round later in the fifth, it was a left uppercut that sent Valdez to the deck before he was eventually out for the count in the sixth after a bruising bodyshot in the ribcage.

It was a return to form for Navarrete, who bounced back from May’s decision loss to Denys Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title.

“I had to work hard in each round. He comes forward. I had to push him back. That was the right strategy to take down Valdez, who is always strong,” Navarrete said.

“I told everyone before that I would have a new left hand and that’s what has happened. It felt really good. We are now starting a second stage of my career and I plan to take advantage of it.”

Don’t miss Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II live on Sky Sports Box Office on December 21.