By Norm Frauenheim
PHOENIX — On the scale Friday, they were almost even. On the scorecards a year-and-a-half ago, they were close. On any scale, the fight is hard to predict.
Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez meet for the second time Saturday at Footprint Center in a fight that fans hope is more of a rematch than a repeat.
The first fight — at Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale — was a punishing blowout, delivered by Navarrete, who got on a roll and rolled over Valdez, who left the ring badly bloodied, a fractured eye socket and absolutely no chance on the cards. It was 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112, all for Navarrete.
About sixteen months ago, it looked as if there’d never be another one.
“It was too one-sided,’’ said Valdez (30-2, 24 KOs), who Friday was at 130-pounds, the junior lightweight limit and one-tenth of a pound heavier than Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs). “I have to be honest.’’
But Valdez’ stubborn persistence and a couple of sloppy performances by Navarrete set the stage for another. When the rematch was first announced, there was some skepticism about its marketability. Once was enough, wasn’t it?
No, it wasn’t. That much was clear at Friday’s weigh-in.
A crowd and a buzz filled an upstairs ballroom at a downtown Phoenix hotel. The back-and-forth display of violence, blood and courage created an appetite for more, NavarreteValdez2.
A restless crowd of fans from southern Arizona and northern Mexico jammed the room. Phoenix has often been called a city full of educated boxing fans, Perhaps, they know something that wasn’t always evident in the first fight. Whatever it is, the buzz says a genuine battle is looming in the second chapter between the Mexican rivals
A sure sign is at the box office. Footprint opened up the upper section of seats at the Suns arena late Thursday.
Tickets are selling, not only for the Navarrete-Valdez, but also for another rematch, Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) versus Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) in a rematch of Espinoza’s majority decision for a featherweight title a year ago. Espinoza was 125.7 pounds Friday, also a tenth-of-a-pound heavier than Ramirez, a Cuban who heard Cuba, Cuba chants after he stepped off the scale
Even Navarrete says he can’t wait to watch Espinoza-Ramirez.
“Me and Oscar are going to war all over again,’’ said Navarrete, still the World Boxing Organization’s’ junior-lightweight champion. “But it might be hard to put on the kind war that we’ll see from Ramirez and Espinoza.’’
Call it a night of encores, for fighters and fans.
