Oscar Valdez defeated defending champion Miguel Berchelt to secure the WBC featherweight belt after delivering a powerful left hook to keep him cool at the end of the 10thth round.
The victory could lead Valdez into a fight with WBO champion Shakur Stevenson, who was sitting in the ring at the MGM Grand Conference Center and said, “This is the only fight that needs to be done now.”
Berchelt did not move for a few seconds after being eliminated and had to be assisted in a sitting position.
Valdez made a turn in the fourth when the referee decided that the ropes kept Berchelt up. But Berchelt, who has held the WBC super featherweight title since 2017 and is considered the best active super featherweight in the world, mounted a rally in the middle of the match.
“There’s nothing better in life than proving that people are wrong,” Valdez, 30, told reporters. “I have a list of people who doubted me. My idols doubted me. Boxing analysts doubted me. They said Berchelt would kick me out. I have a message for everyone – don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. “