WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt (37-1, 33 KOs) looks set to defend his title on Dec. 12 against unbeaten challenger Oscar Valdez (28-0, 22 KOs), according to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
Iole wrote: "On Thursday, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to Yahoo Sports that WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt will defend his belt on ESPN against Oscar Valdez. The site is not finalized for that one, but it is targeted for Las Vegas. ...
"(The Berchelt-Valdez bout) figures to be a contender for Fight of the Year. Berchelt has gone 16-0 with a no-contest in his last 17 fights and has finished 15 of them. In Valdez, he’ll be facing a high-energy former featherweight champion."
In a calendar year that went without live boxing for several months, an explosive encounter such as this one will be welcomed with open arms by fight fans around the globe.
Both fighters were able to get in fights as promoters began to find ways to stage cards despite the lockdown, but Berchelt's sixth-round stoppage of Eleazer Valenzuela on June 27 in Mexico City was later changed to the no-contest referenced by Iole.
Valdez, meanwhile, finished Jayson Velez of Puerto Rico with less than a minute remaining of their 10-round contest on July 21 at the MGM Grand, where his challenge of Berchelt could very well end up.
Patrick L Stumberg of Bad Left Hook commented on the magnitude of this exciting match-up.
"This is a fairly pivotal matchup for both men," he wrote. "Berchelt has some solid names on his record, including Francisco Vargas, Takashi Miura, and Jason Sosa, but none with the sort of profile that Valdez boasts. Valdez, meanwhile, still has plenty of unanswered questions about his future at the weight."