Oscar Valdez vs Jason Sanchez Preview June 8th
Undefeated WBO Featherweight Champion Oscar Valdez of Mexico will be defending his title against unbeaten Jason Sanchez of Albuquerque, New Mexico this Saturday, June 8th. The 12-round bout will be taking place in Reno, Nevada and can be seen live in the USA on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and those in Canada can see it on TSN 5. Valdez last fought in February when he stopped Carmine Tommasone in the seventh round. Sanchez last boxed in February as well when he stopped Daniel Olea in the second round.
Valdez vs Sanchez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jason Sanchez +1200
- Oscar Valdez -1500
My Pick
The 28-year-old Valdez has moved back to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona where he grew up, and enters the contest with a perfect record of with 25-0 with 20 Kos. He obviously has better-than-average power with a knockout ratio of 80 per cent, but he’s gone the distance in three of his last four bouts. He stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach. Valdez has 129 rounds of 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, 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 five times in his pro career, but as mentioned, he’s been taken the distance in three of his last four outings.
As for Sanchez, he’s a 24-year-old who enters the fight with a perfect mark of 14-0 with 7 Kos. He has average power with a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. He turned pro back in 2012, but has fought just 61 rounds since then. He’s been brought along slowly and just five of his 14 opponents had winning records. Sanchez is 5 feet-6-inches tall with a 64-inch reach which gives him a slight two-inch reach disadvantage against the champ.
Sanchez hasn’t fought any recognizable opponents as of yet so is definitely taking a huge step up in class against Valdez on Saturday night. He did manage to win the vacant WBO Youth Featherweight Title in October of last year when he beat Jean Carlos Rivera via a 10-round unanimous decision. He also owns an eight-round unanimous decision victory over veteran German Meraz in March of 2018.
Prediction…
Valdez isn’t the most skilled world champion of the dozens in boxing today, but he’s got power, a good chin and heart. Sanchez is stepping up in class here and it looks to be a bit of a mismatch on paper. I’m expecting Valdez to retain his crown on Saturday night.
Sanchez is moving up in class and should fall just short.
Play: Valdez -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jason Sanchez betting • Oscar Valdez betting