Berchelt vs. Valdez: Mexican Warriors Collide Live on ESPN and ESPN+
This Saturday, Feb. 20, Top Rank on ESPN will be home to an all-Mexican championship clash when two of the sport’s most decorated action heroes – WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel Berchelt (38-1, 34 KOs) and former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez (28-0, 22 KOs) clash in the highly anticipated showdown live from the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Live coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET, with undercard action on ESPN+ (in English and Spanish). Main event coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+ (in English and Spanish).
Berchelt vs. Valdez will re-air on ESPN Deportes, Sunday, Feb 21 at 1 a.m. ET / 10 p.m. PST and 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
The co-main will feature a 10-round junior lightweight special attraction featuring undefeated 20-year-old Gabriel Flores Jr. against former world title challenger Jayson Velez. The featured bout on a loaded ESPN+ undercard matches unbeaten Brazilian middleweight contender and former Olympic Silver Medalist Esquiva Falcao against two-time world title challenger Artur Akavov. Also on the ESPN+ undercard are some of the top blue-chip prospects in the sport including Dominican knockout wizard Elvis Rodriguez and 18-year old Puerto Rican wunderkind Xander Zayas.
Fight week and fight night programming will feature ESPN’s boxing commentary team, including veteran broadcaster Joe Tessitore for ringside commentary, alongside 2021 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, former two-division world champion and 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, and future Hall of Famer Timothy Bradley on the analysis. The onsite location desk team will feature ESPN’s boxing reporter Bernardo Osuna and ESPN’s boxing insider Mark Kriegel.
Fight week coverage includes:
- SportsCenter (Fri-Sat.): Bernardo Osuna to host segments for ESPN’s flagship news and information program from Las Vegas
- LIVE – Berchelt vs. Valdez Final Press Conference: Thurs at 3 p.m. ET on the ESPN App and YouTube.com/ESPN
- LIVE – Berchelt vs. Valdez Official Weigh-In: Fri at 5 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and streaming live on the ESPN App
- Max on Boxing (Fri at 5:30 p.m., ESPN2): ESPN’s boxing series, hosted by Max Kellerman, will air immediately following the weigh-in and include interviews with Berchelt and Valdez.
- ESPN’s marketing creative features music from the track, “Coming For Blood” by Slick Naim featuring Break Out the Crazy.
- Blood, Sweat & Tears: Berchelt vs. Valdez: a two-part, behind-the-scenes look at the fighters’ camps, streaming on demand now on the ESPN App (Part 1, Part 2)
- Real Time: Berchelt vs. Valdez: all-access social media series follows the fighters throughout fight week, with new episodes posted daily
ESPN.com
- Berchelt-Valdez Expert Picks:
- Thursday: 12 Rounds: Berchelt-Valdez breakdown by Andre Ward
- Friday: The heart of a fighter: Mark Kriegel on Valdez-Berchelt
- Saturday: Ringside Seat – Everything you need to know about Berchelt-Valdez
ESPNDeportes.com will feature pre-and-post fight features, videos, daily reports, stats, as well as real-time fight score and analysis.
Top Rank on ESPN(All times Eastern)
| Date | Time | Event | Platform |
| Thurs. Feb 18 | 3:00 p.m. | Berchelt vs. Valdez Final Press Conference | ESPN App, ESPN’s YouTube Channel |
| Fri, Feb 19 | 5:00 p.m. | Berchelt vs. Valdez Official Weigh-In: | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN App |
| 5:30 p.m. | Max on Boxing | ESPN2 | |
| Sat., Feb 20 | 6:30 p.m. | Top Rank on ESPN: Berchelt vs. Valdez Undercards (Live) | ESPN+ |
| 10:00 p.m. | Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Berchelt vs. Valdez (Live) | ESPN, ESPN App (in Spanish) | |
| Su., Feb 21 | 1:00 a.m. | Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Berchelt vs. Valdez (Re-Air) | ESPN Deportes |
| 6:00 p.m. | Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Berchelt vs. Valdez (Re-Air) | ESPN Deportes |
| 10:00 PM | Main | Miguel Berchelt (C) vs. Oscar Valdez | WBC Junior Lightweight |
| Co-Feature | Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Jayson Velez | ||
| 6:30 PM | Feature | Esquiva Falcao vs. Artur Akavov | |
| Undercard | Luis Alberto Veron vs. Elvis Rodriguez | ||
| Undercard | Bryan Lua vs. Frevian Gonzalez | ||
| Undercard | Xander Zayas vs. James Martin | ||
| Undercard | Waldo Cortes vs. Sonny Conto | ||
| Undercard | Javier Martinez vs. Billy Wagner | ||
| Undercard | Uriel Villanueva vs. Omar Rosario |