Oscar Valdez Steals the Show ? Omaha?s Terence Crawford now owns two of the world championship belts at 140 pounds after cruising to a unanimous decision over Victor Postol on Saturday, July 23, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. On the undercard, Oscar Valdez needed little time in overrunning Argentina?s Matias Rueda with every punch in his arsenal to win the WBO featherweight world title in the second round.
?It?s a dream I had since I was eight years old,? said Valdez.
Valdez (21-0, 18 KOs) didn?t know what to expect against undefeated Rueda (26-1, 23 KOs) but knew by his record the Argentine could punch. So he beat Rueda to the punch to dominate and win the WBO title by knockout at the MGM Grand before more than 7,000 fans.
Valdez didn?t waste time establishing his overall quickness. Quick jabs and left hooks found the mark early and hurt Rueda. A follow up right hand further hurt the Argentine.
In the second round Valdez unloaded his complete arsenal including more crushing left hooks. Rueda tried to fight back but ran into a counter right cross that buckled his knees. A three-punch combination by a fired-up Valdez and a left hook to the body sent Rueda slumped to the floor. He got up and was met by a flurry of blows including another to the body and down went Rueda for good as referee Russell Mora signaled the fight over at 2:18 of the second round. Valdez was deemed the winner by knockout and new WBO featherweight titlist.
?That?s the beauty of this sport, if you work hard, your dreams can come true,? Valdez said. ?My manager, my trainer are all a part of this.?
Valdez said he welcomes any challenge including a match with Vasyl Lomachenko who now fights at a higher division.
