Navarrete KOs Valdez with a body shot in the sixth round of the rematch

Emanuel Navarrete overpowered Oscar Valdez in their rematch on Saturday night.

A precise and aggressive Navarrete impressed in his return to the 130-pound division by striking Valdez to the head and body in the main event of a 10-bout card at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Navarrete knocked out Valdez in the first, fourth and sixth rounds and became the first opponent to stop the former two-division champion at distance.

Navarette’s left to Valdez’s body dropped him for the third time with 30 seconds on the clock in the sixth round. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted him out at 2:42 of the sixth round.

Mexico’s Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) retained his WBO junior lightweight title by forcing the ever-courageous Valdez into submission. Navarrete revived his career following a 12-round partial points loss to Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk in his previous bout, which was contested in the 135-pound division, and a 12-round majority draw with Brazilian Robson Conceicao in 12 round, 130-pound championship bout before Berinchyk beat him.

Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) lost by knockout for the first time in his 12-year, 35-fight professional career. The two-time Mexican Olympian’s only losses before Saturday night were 12-round unanimous points defeats to Navarette in August 2023 and Shakur Stevenson in April 2022.

The 34-year-old Valdez was close to tears as he apologized to his fans who came from Mexico to watch their rematch in person.

“We tried to get the win,” Valdez told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna in the ring. “We really wanted it. We trained very hard for this. I would like to say that I feel sorry for all these people who have come here to see me from all over, from Sonora, from Nogales, from Phoenix. … I wish I could get a better result. Thanks for coming here to support you. Maybe next time.”

Valdez twisted his right ankle falling from a first-round takedown. He later admitted, though, that Navarrete was much more the reason for his TKO loss.

“We slipped and fell and I messed up my ankle,” Valdez said. “But this is not an excuse. [Navarrete] he is a great champion. I take my hat off to him.”

Navarrete acknowledged that their second meeting wasn’t as easy as it might appear historically on boxrec.com.

“Look, Oscar Valdez was extremely strong in this fight,” Navarrete said. “And he kept moving forward, so what I had to do was stop him and push him back. Because if you let Valdez come at you, going downhill, then it’s going to be a long night.

The beginning of the end Saturday night came when another ferocious left uppercut from Navarrete sent Valdez to the ropes with about 1:20 left in the sixth round. Valdez tries to react, but Navarrete hits him with a left to the body which abruptly interrupts the action.

Navarrete’s violent onslaught continued into the fifth round. The champion caught Valdez with several punishing punches in those three minutes, punctuated by a crushing left uppercut that knocked Valdez’s mouthpiece to the canvas with seconds left in the fifth round.

A left hook from Navarrete knocked Valdez off balance and into the corner with just over 1:40 left in the fourth round. Valdez steadied himself before falling and did his best to make the rest of the fourth round competitive.

Just before the bell rang to end the fourth round, however, Navarrete landed multiple right hands on a retreating Valdez, who fell to the canvas for the second time in their bout.

After suffering a knockdown during the second round, Valdez gamely went toe-to-toe with Navarrete and connected with his fair share of flush punches that helped him temporarily stall Navarrete’s momentum. The taller, heavier and stronger Navarrete landed a right hand to the temple of a vulnerable Valdez that dropped him to his gloves and knees with 25 seconds left in the first round. Navarrete looked much more effective as soon as this rematch began compared to the loss to Berinchyk.