Miguel Berchelt vs Oscar Valdez Preview Feb. 20th
WBC Super Featherweight Champion Miguel Berchelt will be taking on undefeated WBO Featherweight Champion and fellow Mexican Oscar Valdez this Saturday, Feb. 20th. The 12-round fight from the Bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while fans in Canada can see it on TSN 2 and those in the UK can see it on Premier Sports. Valdez last fought in July when he dropped Jayson Velez in the fifth round and then stopped him in the 10th. Berchelt last fought in June when he halted Eleazar Valenzuela in the sixth stanza but the fight was called a no-contest since it took place with no commission present during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Berchelt vs Valdez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Oscar Valdez +250
- Miguel Berchelt -325
My Pick
Berchelt is 29 years old and has an excellent record of 37-1 with 33 Kos. He turned pro back in 2010 and has 153 rounds under his belt since. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a reach of 71.5 inches. Berchelt’s record shows he has quite a bit of power and his current knockout ratio is a very impressive 86.8 per cent. His lone loss was a first-round TKO at the hands of Luis Florez in 2014. Berchelt’s best wins have been against Francisco Vargas (twice), Miguel Roman, Jonathan Barros, Takashi Miura, George Jupp, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Escalante, Carlos Reyes and Cristobal Cruz.
Berchelt had a fine amateur career and was a three-time national champion. He’s a fan-friendly boxer with an exciting style who gave fans a couple of classics against very tough customers in Vargas and Miura. This fight sees him defending his title for the ninth time after winning the interim belt by stopping George Jupp in the sixth round in 2018. Berchelt can be hit, as Vargas, Miura and others have shown and despite being stopped once he’s displayed a solid chin.
The 30-year-old Valdez fights out of America and enters the contest with a perfect record of with 28-0 with 22 Kos. He obviously has better-than-average power as well with a knockout ratio of 78.6 per cent, but he’s gone the distance in four of his last seven bouts. He’s just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach so gives up 1.5-inches in height and 5.5-inches in reach to the champion Valdez has 158 rounds of pro experience under his belt since turning pro in 2012. He had a stellar amateur career and is the only two-time boxing Olympian from Mexico. However he failed to win a medal at the 2008 or 2012 Games in Beijing and London.
Valdez did win a dozen medals in other international competitions though and had more than 200 amateur bouts. One of these included a loss to current world champion and pound-for-pound contender Vasyl Lomachenko. Valdez hasn’t been fighting a steady diet of Grade A boxers, but has beaten the likes of Scott Quigg, Jason Sanchez, Miguel Marriaga, Hiroshige Osawa, Evgeny Gradovich, Chris Avalos, Jose Ramirez, Alberto Garza and Ruben Tamayo. So far he’s had to go the distance just six times in his pro career, but as mentioned, he’s been taken the distance in four of his last seven outings.
Prediction…
Berchelt’s the real deal with power and speed and is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet at the moment. Valdez isn’t far behind him but he’s smaller and moving up in weight. This has the potential to be an all-action Mexican slugfest much like the Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera wars of years past. This could be the fight of the year and I’ll be surprised if Berchelt doesn’t win it.
Berchelt is bigger and slightly better in all areas.
Play Berchelt -325 @ BetOnline.ag
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Miguel Berchelt betting • Oscar Valdez betting