Valdez-Medina and select undercard fights will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN Deportes at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Oscar Valdez drags it back home. Nogales, Mexico. Ten rounds at junior lightweight this Saturday against Ricky Medina. He’s been up, down, all around, and now he’s chasing one last gasp of relevance.
Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) used to be the lad who gave us wars—Berchelt, Navarrete, remember? Absolute rumbles. But the Navarrete fight in December? Brutal. He looked old, flat, slow. It hurt to watch. CompuBox had Navarrete outlanding him 272 to 138 — with Valdez connecting at just 26%. To longtime fans, it was painful to watch. So here he is, first time fighting in Mexico since 2013, and you can feel it—this isn’t a party, it’s a plea.
Medina Ain’t Just Polite Handshakes
Don’t get fooled by Ricky Medina’s manners. He’s only 24, record of 16-3 with 9 KOs, been in with Raymond Ford already. He knows what this is: a name, a scalp. At Thursday’s Nogales press conference streamed by ESPN Deportes, Medina said: “It’s an honor.” Yeah, fine. But honor don’t pay rent. He’s coming to crack Valdez, simple as that. And honestly, he looks like he fancies it.
Valdez tried to play the noble vet: “There will always be ups and downs… I want to be your champion again.” You hear the weight in that. Sounds more like a confession than a rally cry. Respectable, sure, but blokes don’t talk like that when they’re flying—they talk like that when they’re running out of rope.
Is This the Revival… or the Last Walk?
Medina’s not world class yet, no. But he’s young, fresh, not scarred by a thousand rounds of punishment. Valdez? He ain’t the Olympian anymore, he’s a 34-year-old with miles on the clock, shoulders aching, reflexes half-gone. If he wins, he maybe gets another sniff at a big fight. If he loses… everyone knows what gets said—done, finished, washed. And it’s cruel, but that’s boxing.
MY Take
I’ll say it straight: I love Valdez, always have, but boxing doesn’t forgive nostalgia. Medina’s not great, but he’s got what Valdez doesn’t anymore—youth and no fear. That combo kills old fighters. If Valdez is even half a beat behind, Nogales might not be celebrating, it might be mourning. And nobody’ll admit it out loud in the arena, but they’ll be thinking it: maybe it’s over. Maybe it’s been over for a while.
Fight Details
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (USA), 3 a.m. BST (UK)
Streaming: Live on ESPN Deportes
Venue: Domo Binacional, Nogales, Mexico
Fight Card
Oscar Valdez vs. Ricky Medina, 10 Rounds, Junior Lightweight
Israel Ramirez vs. Jose Amaro, 10 Rounds, Junior Featherweight
Angel Patron vs. Carlos Vargas, 8 Rounds, Junior Featherweight
Ricardo Gonzalez vs. Leobardo Quintana, 8 Rounds, Junior Lightweight
Luis Corona Parra vs. Yohan Orduño, 6 Rounds, Junior Lightweight (swing bout)
