The WBO super featherweight championship will be on the line Saturday in a 12-round match when Emanuel Navarrete battles Oscar Valdez in a rematch of their Aug. 12, 2023, WBO junior lightweight championship bout. The preliminary Navarrete vs. Valdez fight card from Footprint Center in Phoenix gets underway at 5:30 p.m. ET, with the main card slated to begin around 10:30 p.m. ET. In their last meeting, Navarrete came away with a 12-round unanimous decision victory. This will be the second bout for both fighters in 2024.
Navarrete is a -250 favorite (risk $250 to win $100), while Valdez comes back at +205 in the latest Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez odds. The over/under for total rounds is 10.5, with the Over favored at -250 and the Under listed at +190. The fight going the distance is priced at -200, while no is priced at +150. Before making any Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez picks, be sure to see the boxing predictions from SportsLine's Josh Nagel.
Nagel, who is the combat sports editor for SportsLine, is an experienced and successful boxing analyst and covered the sport for multiple outlets for more than 20 years. Previous SportsLine selections included Floyd Mayweather by decision (-120) over Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Anthony Joshua by TKO/KO (-150) over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017. Anyone who has followed Nagel's combat sports picks is way up.
With the Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez fight fast approaching, Nagel has studied the boxing match from every angle and released confident picks on the total rounds completed and method-of-victory props. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Why you should back Navarrete
After making his professional debut on Feb. 18, 2012, Navarrete dominated the ring over the next six years, posting a 25-1 record during that span. Of his wins, 22 of those came via stoppage. He is now 38-2-1, including 31 victories coming by knockout. He won his first WBO junior featherweight crown in December 2018 with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Isaac Dogboe. He later retained the title by a 12th-round TKO over Dogboe in May 2019.
He has gone on to become a three-division world champion. Besides holding the WBO junior featherweight championship from 2018 to 2020, he also was the title holder in the WBO featherweight division from 2020 to 2023. Navarrete has held the WBO junior lightweight title since February 2023. He is the world's top-ranked active super featherweight boxer by BoxRec, ESPN and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. See which fighter to back here.
Why you should back Valdez
The 33-year-old from Mexico has been dominant since turning pro in November 2012. He won his first 30 bouts, including the first 11 by knockout. Although he is 2-2 over his last four fights, he is 32-2 all-time, including 24 wins via knockout. He holds a 72% knockout-to-win percentage and is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Liam Wilson this past March for the vacant interim WBO super featherweight title.
He is a former world champion in two weight classes, winning the WBC super featherweight title in 2021 and holding it until 2022, and the WBO featherweight championship in 2016 until 2019. Valdez qualified for the 2008 Olympics as a 17-year-old, and again in 2012. In 2008, he won the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships gold medal in the featherweight division at Guadalajara. He also won gold at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games at featherweight. See which fighter to back here.
How to make Navarrete vs. Valdez picks
We can tell you he likes the over for rounds, and he's also locked in a confident money line and method-of-victory prop that returns plus money. You absolutely need to see Nagel's picks before making any of your own.
Who wins Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez, and which method of victory prop is a must back? Join SportsLine here to see which bets you need to make for the fight, all from the accomplished veteran combat sports analyst who has consistently delivered winners.
