Oscar Valdez dropped Jason Sanchez en-route to a 12-round unanimous decision to retain the WBO Featherweight title at Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada.
In the opening seconds of round five, Valdez dropped Sanchez with a hard left hook. The two had some nice exchanges that Valdez got the better in most of those skirmishes.
Valdez, 125.4 lbs of Nogales, MEX won by scores of 118-109 twice and 117-110, and is now 26-0. Sanchez, 124.8 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 14-1.
“I hope {to fight at featherweight again}. I also have to listen to my body. We’re going to see what’s best,” Valdez said. “Sometimes I get tired in there, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the weight loss. We’ll talk about {my next move} as a team and will do what is best. I want to fight everybody at 126, 130. Let’s do it.”
“Sanchez lacked experience, but he showed tremendous guts. Oscar Valdez fought him back and showed his championship heart,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We’re going to look for a fight later on in the year between Valdez and Carl Frampton if Frampton is successful in his next fight.”
19 Year-Old Gabriel Flores Jr.remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Salvador Briceno in a light weight bout.
Scores were 79-73 and 78-74 twice for Flores, 132.8 lbs of Stockton, California and is now 14-0. Briceno, 132.2 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 15-4.
“I want to fight in the next two, three months. If they want me to fight next month, we can talk about it,” Flores said. “I am only 19, and I am only getting better. I’m staying busy and fighting better opponents. Top Rank is developing me perfectly, and it’s about fighting all different types of fighters to get me ready for the championship level.”
Robson Conceicao won an eight-round unanimous decision over Carlos Ruiz in a super featherweight bout.
Conceicao, 127.8 lbs of Baiha, BRA won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73, and is now 13-0. Ruiz, 127.2 lbs of Mexico City is now 16-7-2.
Sergio Vega and Diego Elizondo battled to a unanimous draw in a lightweight contest.
All three judges saw the score 38-38.
Vega, 133.6 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 2-0-1. Elizondo, 1348.8 lbs of Crason City, NV is 2-0-2.
Michael Seals scored a one-punch stoppage of Christopher Brooker in round two of their scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout.
Seals landed a right hand to the top of the head that put Brooker out and briefly out cold and the fight was stopped at 2:00.
Seals, 175.2 lbs of Atlanta is 23-2 with 17 knockouts. Brooker, 174.6 lbs of Philadelphia is 14-7.
“He’s a tough guy. I did my homework on him,” Seals said. “I knew he was crafty, so I had to take my time. I knew I was going to walk him into something.”
In a battle of pro debuting super lightweights, J.J. Mariano stopped William Flenoy in the final round of their scheduled four-round bout.
Mariano registered a knockdown in round three from a left hook. In the next round, Mariano landed some hard shots, and Flenoy bowed out of the fight citing an injured shoulder.
Mariano, 138.2 lbs of Reno is 1-0 with one knockout. Flenoy, 139.4 lbs of Fresno, CA is 0-1.
