By Norm Frauenheim –
PHOENIX – Kids and fans stood and waited in a line that stretched out into a parking lot and almost onto a busy westside street just for a chance to say hello to Oscar Valdez Jr.
Champ, they called him.
He hasn’t been one for a while.
But a real chance to prove them right all over again opened up Tuesday when the World Boxing Organization ruled that Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) and Liam Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) will fight for the acronym’s interim junior-lightweight title at Desert Diamond Arena Friday night in nearby Glendale.
“It’s added motivation,’’ Valdez said after signing autographs for a crowd of moms, dads, kids and fans at Old School Boxing, a gym in the industrial section of central Phoenix. “I always train like I’m fighting for a world title.
“But that chance is closer now than I thought it would be.’’
Valdez, a former featherweight and junior-lightweight champion, said the news surprised him.
“I had no idea this might happen,’’ said Valdez, a popular fighter in Arizona who was born in the border town of Nogales and has roots in Tucson.
It did because of Emanuel Navarrete’s pursuit of a fourth division title. He’ll fight for the WBO’s vacant lightweight title against Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk on May 18 in San Diego.
In its ruling, the WBO announced that the Valdez-Wilson winner would be elevated to champion if the favored Navarrete beats Berinchyk and then decides to defend the 135-pound belt instead of the 130-pound version.
The announcement was not without controversy. The WBO currently ranks Wilson No. 2 and Valdez at No. 4.
The WBO’s top-ranked contender is unbeaten Albert Bell (27-0, 9 KOs), a Toledo fighter who is coming off a first-round KO of Jonathan Romero. The No. 3-ranked contender is Andre Cortes, also unbeaten (21-0, 12 KOs).
Valdez is coming off a punishing scorecard loss to Navarrete in August, also at Desert Diamond.
“I have a tough battle facing me now,’’ Valdez said. “That’s my focus.’’
Valdez is the betting favorite, but Wilson represents a significant challenge in an EPSN-televised bout. Wilson, an Australian still pursuing his first world title, lost a controversial bout to Navarrete in February, also at Desert Diamond.
In a wild fourth round, Wilson knocked down Navarrete, clearly hurting him. In an apparent attempt to gain extra time to recover, Navarrete spit out his mouthpiece.
On the clock, it was 27 seconds before the referee retrieved the mouth piece. It was time enough for Navarrete to regain his consciousness and composure.
Five rounds later, Navarrete won, scoring a ninth-round TKO over Wilson to take the WBO’s 130-pound title.
It was vacant then. It might be again, leaving it open for the winner of a Friday night fight that suddenly has some heightened stakes.
