Valdez Dismantles Wilson: A Statistical

On March 29th at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, USA, a fight for the WBO "interim" super featherweight title (up to 58.96 kg) took place between Mexican Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Australian Liam Wilson (13-3, 7 KOs).

The fight concluded with Valdez securing a victory via technical knockout in the 7th round, marking his comeback after a unanimous decision loss to Emanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) in August of the previous year.

Judges' Scorecards

At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Oscar Valdez ahead. One judge had the score tied up to the 6th round. Scores at the time of stoppage were 60-54, 57-57, 59-55.

Fight Statistics

According to Compubox statistics, Valdez landed 169 out of 380 (44.5%) of his punches, while Wilson managed 102 out of 398 (25.6%). Valdez successfully landed 43 out of 154 jabs thrown (27.9%), compared to Wilson's 15 out of 134 (11.2%). Valdez's power punches were particularly effective, with 126 out of 226 (55.8%) landing, against Wilson's 87 out of 264 (33%).

What's Next?

Valdez is now the WBO "interim" champion at super featherweight. Before the fight against Wilson, Oscar expressed his willingness to fight Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko, though there's no indication that such a fight will materialize.

A unification fight might be on the cards, depending on Emanuel Navarrete's decisions. A potential bout against Denis Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title (up to 61.2 kg) might render his championship in the super featherweight division obsolete if Navarrete moves up to lightweight permanently, leading to the current belt being declared vacant.

Two scenarios are possible: Valdez might have to fight a designated contender for the full belt, or he could be declared the full champion. In the former case, the nearest boxer in the ranking is 31-year-old American Albert Bell (26-0, 9 KOs). 26-year-old American Andres Cortes (21-0, 12 KOs), ranked third by the WBO, shouldn't be overlooked either.

In the latter case, an attempt for unification could be organized with current champions from other prestigious versions being O'Shaquie Foster (WBC), Lamont Roach (WBA), and Joe Cordina (IBF).