Emanuel Navarrete scores brutal body shot knockout of Oscar Valdez to retain title in rematch

WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel Navarrete is still a world champion after stopping Oscar Valdez in the sixth round of their all-Mexican rematch on Saturday night. Despite the stoppage loss, Valdez didn't make it an easy night for Navarrete, showing the heart and willingness to scrap that made him a former two-division champion.

Valdez was knocked down by a short right hand in the first round. That punch was set up by a sharp left hook from Navarrete and Valdez's decision to try to avoid the ensuing shots by crouching into a low stance and opening himself up to a shot to the temple.

Valdez responded to that early adversity by trying to make things more of a firefight in the second round. That led to Valdez finding success with a string of right hands. That success was short-lived, however, as Navarrete started to land his powerful left hooks and put Valdez back on the defensive.

Those opening rounds set the tone for the fight, with Valdez giving everything he had in a valiant attempt to make something happen only to be clearly more affected by the returning power punches of Navarrete.

A second Navarrete knockdown was scored in the waning seconds of Round 4, though Valdez attempted to argue that he was not actually dropped. Valdez's corner also claimed their fighter had suffered a foot injury early in the fight that was affecting him as the fight wore on.

The final knockdown came in Round 6 with a crushing body shot from Navarrete. Unlike the previous knockdowns, this was one from which Valdez could not rise. The body shot came in a round where Navarrete had battered Valdez with power shots to the head, bringing Valdez's guard up to expose the liver shot.

The finish came at the 2:42 mark of the sixth round.

"No excuses, he beat me well," Valdez said after the fight. "I kind of messed up my ankle a little bit but no excuses. He's a great champion. ... There's a reason why he's the champion. Awkward shots, you don't see them coming."

Since beating Valdez in their first meeting, an August 2023 fight that saw Navarrete navigate a seriously damaged hand for a unanimous decision win, Navarrete retained his title with a majority decision over Robson Conceicao before attempting to capture the vacant WBO belt at lightweight against Denys Berinchyk in a fight in which he came up short by split decision.

"Oscar Valdez was extremely strong and kept coming forward," Navarrete said. "I had to push him backward because if you let Valdez come at you, it's going to be a long night. ... I told you guys, once my left hand was healed, I was going to throw it in different ways and you could see how active it was. You are seeing the second stage of my career and I'm going to do great things."