Emanuel Navarrete vs. Óscar Valdez 2: Press Conference Quotes and Fight Prediction

Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) and Óscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) will fight for super featherweight gold in a highly anticipated rematch on Saturday.

The two men headline a Top Rank event at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ. Boxing fans in the United States can catch the action live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Those in the United Kingdom and Ireland can do so with Sky Sports. TSN will be broadcasting the event in Canada.

In their first meeting in 2023, Navarrete won a clear unanimous decision to retain his WBO super featherweight title. After a draw against Robson Conceição and a failed attempt at winning a lightweight title against Denys Berinchyk, Navarrete moves back down to rematch Valdez. Ahead of their December 7 clash, both men spoke at a press conference. Below is some of what they had to say.

Emanuel Navarrete vs. Óscar Valdez 2 Press Conference Quotes

Emanuel Navarrete

“We all know that we both plan to come out and give a war and leave everything in the ring again,” said Navarrete through an interpreter. “And what better way to do it than by having a co-main event that’s gonna eat things up with these two people [Robeisy Ramírez and Rafael Espinoza]? The bar is gonna be set really high and so we’re gonna have to try to do better than that. It’s gonna be hard especially with these two personalities [Espinoza and Ramirez] next to us. It’s gonna be difficult for both me and Valdez. However, we don’t need much. All we need is for the bell to ring for us to go at it.”

Óscar Valdez

“It was very important for me because boxing penalizes you a lot if you have losses,” said Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and you can do better in the next season. In boxing, after a couple of losses most people don’t want to see you again. So, doing that fight was very important for me. That’s the reason why there was a lot of emotions after that fight because I knew I had an opportunity to go back into the sport again. So, I believe that fight got me the ticket to go for this rematch against ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete…”

Fight Prediction

Coming down in weight after previously fighting at a higher division can be a challenge. This is something that Navarrete will be experiencing but his abilities should help him triumph in the end. Expect Valdez to do better in the rematch but still get outworked by ‘Vaquero.’ Navarrete to win via close unanimous decision.

Full Press Conference

For the press conference in its entirety, click here or the play button below. Video courtesy of Top Rank.