Oscar Valdez defeated reigning champion Miguel Berchelt to secure his WBC super heavyweight belt on Saturday after delivering a strong left hook to take him out of the cold at the end of 10of round.
The win could lead Valdez to a fight with WBO champion Shakur Stevenson, who stood on the sidelines of the MGM Conference Center and said, “This is the only fight to be fought now.”
Berchelt did not move for a few seconds after he was eliminated and had to be assisted in a sitting position.
Valdez scored in the fourth, when the referee ruled that the ropes were holding Berchelt up. But Berchelt, who has held the WBC Super Featherweight title since 2017 and is considered the best active super featherweight in the world, held a rally in the middle of the match.
“There is nothing better in life than proving that people are wrong,” Valdez, 30, told reporters. “I have a list of people who have doubted me. My idols have doubted me. Boxing analysts doubted me. They said Berchelt was going to take me down. I have a message for everyone: don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. ”