Miguel Berchelt vs Oscar Valdez rescheduled for February 20 on ESPN

After losing their initial December 12th date to COVID, WBC lightweight champion Miguel Berchelt and top contender Oscar Valdez will now do battle on February 20th according to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole. As before, the fight airs on ESPN.

“El Alacran” (37-1, 33 KO) has not tasted defeat in nearly seven years, and 15 of his last 16 victories have come inside this distance. After six successful defenses of the belt he took from Francisco Vargas in 2017, he stayed busy with a non-title rout of Eleazar Valenzuela in June, setting up what was meant to be a blockbuster clash with Valdez (28-0, 22 KO).

Valdez enjoyed a lengthy reign as WBO featherweight champion, notably fighting through a busted jaw to defeat Scott Quigg, before vacating last year over a claimed inability to make 126 pounds. His super featherweight debut was shakier than expected, as he had to get off the ground to finish Adam Lopez, but he successfully knocked out the never-before-stopped Jayson Velez in July.

This was one of the best fights on the schedule, and I’m glad we won’t have to wait too much longer to finally see it.