Stateside Boxing: Oscar Valdez Brutally Knocks Out Miguel Berchelt, Becomes A Two-Weight World Champion With A Punch Perfect Performance

'El que con lobos anda, a aullar se enseña.' A famous Azteca quote which translates to 'he who runs with wolves will learn to howl,' and on nights like this the man who howls loudest will write his name amongst those famous murals of the prideful Mexican people. The only way to describe this fight is super, super not only because of the dimed WBC world title that was on the line, but the two men who were contending in the main event on ESPN.

Miguel Berchelt has reigned supreme over the Super Featherweight division for 4 years. In that time he has defended his belt 6 times, with 5 successive knockouts and nobody has come close to beating 'El Alacran' in nearly 7 years. But this was by some distance his biggest test to date. Oscar Valdez dominated everyone who he faced in the Featherweight division, and with his WBO vacation now 18 months old, he stayed active through the lockdown and is in prime condition to become a two-weight world champion.

Both men throw an absurd number of punches, and it meant this one was going to struggle to not be a real classic. Put simply, this was two men who inhale the definition of what it means to be a 'true champion.' It had millions excited for some time, and it all unfolded in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Miguel Berchelt v Oscar Valdez - 12 Rounds WBC Super-Featherweight World Title (Valdez Wins Via 10th Round KO) - ESPN, ESPN+ & Premier Sports.

Berchelt has normally been a slow starter, a man who enjoys taking his time to get a gauge of his opposition, but when you give Valdez any advantage, he takes it and finds a way to expand on it to the best of his ability. The jab was being tripled up and he was moving away from the high tempo attack of Berchelt to take the opening three rounds with no real reply.

Valdez continued to come forward and make Berchelt miss badly, and midway through the 4th round he landed a nasty inside left hook which visibly shocked Berchelt, whose legs were gone for the rest of the round and he was fighting on a level of instinct which is only seen in true Mexican warriors. There was a technical knockdown scored in the same round by Valdez, but Berchelt stayed on his feet and fought on bravely.

With Valdez dominating every aspect of the fight, you wondered what was left for Berchelt to do in an attempt to get his way back into this one, and he answered that question the only way he knows how, simply to fight. He was not only competing once again but arguably doing more than Valdez to steal some rounds and try grind his way back into what must have felt a mountain climb. The work coming back from the former Featherweight champion was scintillating to watch, with a motion to dodge and smash hooks with efficient range.

But for all the brave work that was being put in by Berchelt, he found himself on the canvas for the first time in the fight in the 9th when Valdez fired a right hook, left hook head combination and it looked all but over for the champion. The fight was wrongly allowed to continue, and with merely seconds left in the 10th, Miguel Berchelt walked straight into Valdez' left hand and was put to sleep, a brutal knockout that even heavyweights would be proud of.

This was by some distance Oscar Valdez' best career performance against a true warrior in Miguel Berchelt, a man who was simply outboxed and outpowered tonight by a pound for pound star of the sport. All eyes will be on Miguel Berchelt making a speedy recovery, as the Mexican madness didn't fail to exceed expectations to conclude a brilliant weekend of boxing.