Oscar Valdez and Adam Lopez will face off in a 130-pound rematch on May 20 in Las Vegas, a source told Sportzshala on Friday.
According to the source, this fight will be the main support for the fight between Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko for the undisputed lightweight championship on Sportzshala+ PPV.
Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) defeated Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) by a seventh-round knockout in November 2019, but the fight was much tougher than anticipated. Lopez, the main underdog, knocked Valdez down in the second round before the Mexican Olympian rallied and took the TKO victory.
Valdez and Lopez were scheduled to fight different opponents that night, but after Valdez’s original opponent went overweight, the bout was pieced together the following night.
“I was very surprised [by the knockdown]”Valdez said at the time. “I take my hat off to Adam Lopez. He is a great fighter, a great warrior, just like his father. [Hector Lopez] was. I just got hit. This is boxing. I have been preparing for two, three months [Adrian] Gutierrez. I have a new opponent, but that’s no excuse. This child is a warrior.”
This time they will have enough time to prepare in advance for each other. Valdez was scheduled to fight Emanuel Navarrete on February 3 for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title but pulled out due to a rib injury.
Navarrete won the title with a ninth round TKO win over Liam Wilson. If Valdez defeats Lopez again as expected, Navarrete will defend the title against Valdez later this year, according to the source.
But first, Valdez has to fight Lopez. Valdez, 32, lost his 130-pound title in April when Shakur Stevenson smashed it. Prior to that, he defeated Robson Conceição in September 2021 after Valdes tested positive for the banned substance phentermine.
Lopez, 26, has only won once in the last two years, losing by decision to Isaac Dogbow and, most recently, Abraham Nova in January. He was defeated twice by Nova.
“I would love to have a rematch with Oscar, he is a real fighter,” Lopez said in November 2019. “I’m not a 130-pound fighter, but I’m a real fighter too, so I’ll fight anyone, anywhere. .”
Source: www.espn.com
