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Steve KimESPN
Former WBO featherweight world titleholder Oscar Valdez returns to the ring for the first time since November to face Jayson Velez in the main event of a Top Rank card Tuesday at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET).
Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) won the title with a second-round TKO victory over Matias Adrian Rueda in 2016. Valdez defended the belt six times before he decided to vacate the belt and move up to the junior lightweight division.
In his first fight at 130 pounds, Valdez defeated late replacement opponent Adam Lopez by seventh-round TKO.
Velez (29-6-1, 21 KOs) is 3-1 in his past four fights, including a fourth-round TKO victory against former WBC junior featherweight world titlist Victor Terrazas in March 2019.
In the co-main event, super middleweight KO machine Edgar Berlanga (13-0, 13 KOs) takes on Eric Moon (11-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round battle. Berlanga has won all of his 13 professional fights in the first round.
Junior flyweight Kim Clavel (11-0, 2 KOs) puts her unbeaten record on the line against Natalie Gonzalez (6-0, 1 KO) in an eight-round fight. Clavel won the 2020 ESPYS Pat Tillman Award for Service for her work as an overnight nurse at retirement and elderly care centers during the coronavirus pandemic, putting her boxing career on hold.
Junior welterweight power puncher Elvis Rodriguez (7-0-1, 7 KOs) takes on Dennis Okoth (4-3-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round fight.
To start the action, former junior featherweight world champion Isaac Dogboe (20-2, 14 KOs) will look to revive his career after two consecutive loses to Emanuel Navarrete in an eight-round featherweight showdown against former title contender Chris Avalos (27-7, 20 KOs).
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Isaac Dogboe vs. Chris Avalos, eight rounds, featherweights
Still to come:
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Oscar Valdez vs. Jayson Velez, 10 rounds, junior lightweights
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Edgar Berlanga vs. Eric Moon, eight rounds, middleweights
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Kim Clavel vs. Natalie Gonzalez, eight rounds, women’s light flyweights
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Elvis Rodriguez vs. Dennis Okoth, six rounds, junior welterweights