There are many moments in sport that can be described as “where were you when” moments. Moments that when you look back, you’ll remember every detail. “The Shot” from Michael Jordan to send the Cavs home, Muhammed Ali versus Joe Frazier, Tiger Woods’ first Masters win, the Miracle on Ice, and so many others. The world of boxing gave us yet another “where were you when moment” when Miguel Berchelt (38-1, 34 KO’s) took on Oscar Valdez (28-0, 22KO’s) on the last night of the Top Rank bubble on February 20, 2021.
Coming into the fight, no one thought it would be an easy fight for either fighter. The fight was built as a battle of two Mexican offensive powerhouses that would feature very little defense. Berchelt entered the match as the WBC super featherweight champion. This bout marked his seventh title defense on the way to his goal of breaking Julio Cesar Chavez’s record of nine title defenses. Offense was the name of the game. Berchelt averages 81 punches per round in world title fights and entered the ring with an 84% knock-out percentage.
While Berchelt entered the match as the favorite, Oscar Valdez is no pushover. The undefeated challenger entered the ring with a reputation as a tough Mexican boxer with a deadly left hook. In one fight versus Scott Quigg, Valdez fought and won after sustaining a broken jaw. However, Valdez came into this bout as the underdog, with many analysts believing he would have to fight a perfect fight in order to beat Barchelt. Even his idol, Julio Cesar Chavez, did not give Valdez much of a chance. However, all this did was motivate Valdez.
The first round was just a warm-up round for both fighters. Still, in the second round, Valdez began using his jab extremely effectively, bloodying Berchelt’s nose before the round was over. In the third round Valdez look even sharper with excellent movement while Berchelt looked slow. In the fourth round, Valdez began to let his deadly left hook fly. He rocked Berchelt with the money punch and scored the technical knockdown. Normally Valdez would be able to finish a hurt opponent, but Berchelt is no ordinary opponent. Berchelt was barely able to survive the round as his legs looked extremely wobbly. Through the fourth round Valdez had looked surprisingly dominant, landing his left hooks at will and using his jab effectively. He was clearly ahead in every scorecard, but this wasn’t a fight that anyone expected to go the distance.
Berchelt was able to recover and strung together a few good rounds by putting the pressure on Valdez. In the seventh round, Valdez looked as though he was tiring, and Berchelt took that opportunity to ramp up the pace of the fight. While Valdez finished the round well, Berchelt had clearly taken control of the fight and was looking more like his offensive self. Valdez, however, picked it up in the eighth. Looking refreshed and ready to go, he unleashed his left hooks with devastation, landing them consistently to Berchelt’s head and body. The ninth round followed suit with a barrage of left hooks and jabs from Valdez, which culminated in a right uppercut-left hook combination that sent Berchelt down to the canvas for the second time. The ninth round ended with Valdez well ahead in the scorecards, but, as was mentioned earlier, no one thought this fight would go the distance, including Valdez and Berchelt.
The tenth round brought on even more devastating left hooks from Valdez. The punch was his most effective and most often used weapon, but Berchelt couldn’t seem to find an answer. Then, after slipping a short combination from Berchelt, Valdez ended the fight with just one second left in the round. A stunning left hook connected and sent Berchelt crumpling to the floor. Valdez was screaming and celebrating before he even hit the canvas. A potential KO of the year sent the coveted WBC super featherweight title to Valdez, who in his post-fight interview thanked everyone who doubted him for the motivation. In total, Berchelt absorbed 103 power punches from Valdez. Oscar Valdez gave a near-perfect performance and shocked the world to become the new WBC super featherweight champion of the world.
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