TUCSON, Ariz. – Oscar Valdez came to his boyhood home looking for a victory that would prove he belongs.
Mission accomplished.
Valdez left no doubt about his world-class credentials Saturday night with a beautiful left hook, a signature shot, that stopped Filipino Ernie Sanchez and put the two-time Mexican Olympian at the table of title contenders.
“A sweet shot,’’ Valdez (18-0, 16 KOs) said after a third-round TKO that brought Tucson Community Center crowd of about 3,000 to its feet.
Valdez went on to say he would fight any of the 126-pound champions. That’s a long list. An impressive one, too. For now, it’s probably led by Leo Santa Cruz. But a showdown with Santa Cruz probably would be tough, if not impossible, to put together. Bob Arum promotes Valdez. Santa Cruz is an Al Haymon fighter. Friendly, they’re not.
Arum also said he doesn’t want to put Valdez into a tough fight with Vasyl Lomachenko, whom he also promotes. Lomachenko beat Valdez as an amateur at the 2009 World Championships. For now, at least, Lomachenko-Valdez appears to be a fight that the public can only imagine. Not now, but maybe later.
His immediate pursuit of a major title might take him to different weight class. Junior feather? Junior-lightweight?
Wherever it takes him, it was clear Saturday that he won’t be denied for long. His compact, active style and power will crash a lot of doors.
He dropped the brave Sanchez (15-7-1, 6 KOs) with a short shot that possessed power that, he said, traveled from his knuckle all the way up to his elbow.
Somehow, Sanchez got up. But his feet were unsteady. His eyes were vacant. He stumbled one way. Then, another. He was out on his feet. Referee Wes Melton rushed in with a timely stoppage at 59 seconds of the round.
The crowd erupted into cheers for Valdez.
For Jose Benavidez Jr, however, there were only boos in what was a tale of two performances on one card. It was also a defining example of what fans want to see. It starts with knockouts. It ends with them.
Benavidez won, scoring a unanimous decision over Sidney Siqueira. He remained unbeaten (24-0, 16 KOs). He didn’t lose anything, other than some popularity.
During the late rounds and after the scores were announced, the crowd booed. It expected dominance from the Phoenix fighter, a WBA junior-welterweight champion. It didn’t get it, at least not until the 10th and final round when Benavidez dropped Siqueira with a right to the body and sent crashing into a neutral corner with a left.
“The crowd doesn’t win fights,’’ Benavidez said.
But it does pay the bills.
Benavidez, who said he battled the flu a week ago and was more than four pounds heavier than the contracted weight on Friday, looked less than sharp.
“I was definitely not 100 percent,’’ said the Phoenix fighter, who agreed to pay Siqueira $2,000 for coming in heavier than the mandated 148 pounds. “I don’t want to make excuses. I also understand that the crowd didn’t understand I’d been sick for the last week. I felt fast, but I just didn’t have my usual power.
“If I had been my usual self, I would have knocked out this guy in three to four rounds.
Benavidez came away with the victory, scoring a unanimous decision. There was no doubt in the 100-90, 99-91, 100-90 scores, all one-sided and in favor of Benavidez, whose title was not at stake
But questions were attached to it. You could hear them in the boos from fans restless for the stoppage that Valdez would later deliver. Sigueira was undersized and unknown. He had fought and lost a bout for a lightweight title in his native Brazil in his last outing.
“ It was learning experience,’’ said Benavidez, who hopes to use the lessons in his next bout.
He was asked if he still hoped reigning Fighter of the Year Terence Crawford.
“Absolutely,’’ he said.
He didn’t lose any confidence either.
On The Undercard
Super-middleweight prospect Jesse Hart (19-0, 16 KOs) of Philadelphia started the show with a quick finish. In an empty arena, Andrik Saralegui of Tijuana was one of the few people to take a seat. Actually, Saralegui (19-4, 15 KOs) was put there, first by an immediate blitz of about five punches from Hart and then an uppercut to the body that ended it 54 seconds after opening bell.
Brazilian middleweight Esquiva Falcao (12-0, 9 KOs), a silver medalist the London Olympics, encountered some early trouble with Hector Munoz’ early aggressiveness. But a Falcao left knocked down Munoz (22-13-1, 14 KOs), a well-traveled Albuquerque fighter.. In the fourth, a quick succession of Falcao punches landed, prompting Melton to stop it at 2:26 of the round.
Super-lightweight Luis Ramos (25-3, 10 KOs) was introduced as the wrong fighter by the ring announcer in the initial intros. The announcer got it corrected. Then, Ramos, of Santa Ana, Calif., made sure there was no mistaken identity in asserting himself with power in both hands for a one-sided decision over Moises Delgadillo (17-13-2, 8 KOs) of Guadalajara.
Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (14-0, 6 KOs) employed a precise and painful body shot, landing a short left that sent Sergio Najera (10-23-2, 4 KOs) of Tijuana into agony, onto the canvas and done for the night in a TKO at 1:28 of the third round.
