Navarrete vs Valdez 2 Fight Results: ‘El Vaquero’ Brutally Stops Valdez (Video)

Navarrete, who improved to 39-2-1 with 31 KOs, knocked down Valdez thrice during the fight. Right hands at the end of the first and fourth rounds scored knockdowns for Navarrete. Valdez featured the heart of a lion and the guts of a burglar but little else. The few shots he did land on Navarrete did absolutely nothing to stop him from continuing to press forward.

“I told everyone before that I have a new left hand,” said Navarrete, who was 0-1-1 in the two fights since his first fight with Valdez. “And that’s what happened. It felt really good. We are starting the second stage of my career, and I plan to take advantage of it.” At the time of the stoppage, Navarrete led 50-53, 49-44 and 49-44 on the scorecards. Besides two judges who gave the third round for Valdez, it was a whitewash for “El Vaquero.”

Navarrete, who outlanded Valdez 106-78, including a 78-66 power punches advantage, landed 35 power shots over the last two rounds to close the show. One of those power shots, a right uppercut, sent Valdez’s mouthpiece flying across the ring. “I had to work hard in each round,” Navarrete said. “He comes forward. I had to push him back. And that was the right strategy to take down Valdez, who is always strong.” Valdez actually landed 46 percent of his power shots (66-of-144), but none seemed to have any effect on Navarrete. “We tried,” Valdez said. “That’s the important thing. It’s the same old Vaquero. He throws awkward shots; you don’t see them coming.”

Navarrete plans on staying at 130 pounds before making another charge into the 135-pound division, a weight class in which he lost a split decision to Denys Berinchyk in his previous fight. “I can do a lot of good things at 130 pounds,” he said. “At least one more fight or two and then we’ll see at 135.”

Robeisy Ramirez Signals “No Mas” in Shocking Defeat

In an ending that was equal parts anticlimactic and shocking, Rafael Espinoza retained his WBO featherweight championship 12 seconds into the sixth round when his opponent, Cuban Robeisy Ramirez, quit in a rematch of their fight in December 2023.
Espinoza landed a right hand to begin the sixth round, and Ramirez waved off the fight in “no mas” fashion.
Ramirez complained after the fight he was hit with an elbow in the fourth round and had vision issues.

“I think {abandoning the fight} was the best decision,” Ramirez said. “I did that instead of taking more punches, especially since I have double vision, and I couldn’t be at my best. That’s the best decision in order to take care of my health. If I can’t continue because of my vision, it’s better to stop.” Ramirez claimed he was hit with elbows in the fourth round, while his team said it was in the fight. Replays were inconclusive as to whether any elbows landed throughout the duration of the fight. ESPN said they reviewed the fight and did not see a single elbow land.

The first five rounds were a back-and-forth affair. Espinoza stalked Ramirez around the ring, and Espinoza kept the pressure on, even as Ramirez landed flush left hands. Espinoza is now 26-0 with 22 KOs, and Ramirez fell to 14-3, 9 KOs. At the time of the stoppage, Ramirez led on two scorecards 48-47, while Espinoza led on the other 49-46.

“Honestly, I think the pressure and the rest of the rounds were going to be very difficult for him, Espinoza said. “This means that he felt my power. He felt my hand. Perhaps he thought that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. But it happened. I won.” Espinoza landed 58-of-267 punches, good for a 21.7 percent connect rate. Ramirez landed 53-of-122, or 43.4 percent. Ramirez had a 40-34 advantage in power punches.

Undercards

In junior welterweight action, Lindolfo Delgado overcame a slow start to down Jackson Marinez, scoring two knockdowns in the fifth round and earning a TKO victory. Delgado knocked Marinez down first with a right uppercut. Then Marinez was extremely wobbly on his legs as he got up, and the official let it continue. However, that was just a temporary reprieve, as Delgado floored him again seconds later with a right hand to the body, and referee Wes Melton called the right at the 2:14 mark of the round. Delgado improved to 22-0 with 16 KOs. Marinez fell to 22-4, 10 KOs.

Heavyweight Richard Torrez, fighting his fifth out of 12 career fights in the greater Phoenix area, pummeled Mexico City’s Isaac Munoz from pillar to post, earning himself a third-round TKO victory. Torrez brought the pressure to Munoz from the beginning, and Munoz offered little resistance to his offensive onslaught. The end came when Torrez hit several power shots without Munoz answering back. The end came at 59 seconds of the third round. Torrez is now 12-0, 11 KOs, while Munoz fell to 18-2-1, 15 KOs. “I felt like I was more patient tonight,” Torrez said. “When you come out and hear the loud crowd, before I was going too fast and now I’ve learned to settle down. I wanted to work the body tonight. That’s definitely something I want to do more of moving forward.”

Featherweight Albert Gonzalez improved to 12-0, 7 KOs with a workmanlike eight-round decision victory over the very game, but outgunned Gerardo Perez. The scores read 80-72, 80-72, and 79-73 in favor of Gonzalez. Perez did his best to keep up with the pressure and volume Gonzalez brought to the table, but it wasn’t nearly enough, even in a scintillating second round, which brought the crowd to its feet, as both fighters landed several power shots. However, Gonzalez pulled away with precision punching and solid defense. Perez is now 12-7-1, 3 KOs.

In junior bantamweight action, Steven Navarro of Inglewood improved to 5-0, 4 KOs, scoring three knockdowns in the second round and stopping Puerto Rican Gabriel Bernadi in the process. Left hooks to the body, including one that looked close to being a low blow, earned the first two knockdowns, and a right uppercut, left hook to the head combo scored the final knockdown, which ended the fight. Bernadi is now 7-2, 3 KOs.

Giovani Santillan rebounded from his lone loss with a first round TKO defeat of Fredrick Lawson. Santillan hit Lawson with a barrage of punches to end the first round, and the referee had seen enough of the Santillan assault by the end of the round. Santillan is now 33-1, 17 KOs, while Lawson is 30-6, 22 KOs.

Art Barrera improved to 7-0, 5 KOs, with a first-round knockout of Juan Medina. The final flurry ended with a right hand that landed flush to Medina’s face. Barrera controlled the entire fight with solid footwork and crisp punching. Medina fell to 4-2, 3 KOs.

Making his professional debut, Cesar Morales tasted defeat at the hands of Kevin Mosquera of Ecuador, who scored a knockdown in the fourth and final round en route to a majority decision. A counter right hand from Mosquera (3-0, 1 KO)  in the fourth and final round forced Morales to stumble, and his gloves hit the ground for a knockdown. Morales had no problems getting up, and the two exchanged haymakers throughout the rest of the fourth round.

In the opening bout, Las Vegas’ DJ Zamora improved to 14-0, 10 KOs, with a second-round TKO of Roman Reynoso. The Argentinian was floored twice in the second round, and the referee immediately waved the fight off after the second knockdown, a right hand straight to the face. Reynoso fell to 22-6-2, 10 KOs.