Boxing World Amazed: Oscar Valdez Turns Pro – Breaking News

See the two-time Mexican Olympian’s first fight live on TopRank.com

Two-time Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez will turn pro on Saturday night and his bout will be aired live on Top Rank.com at approximately 10 pm pacific. Valdez will box in the featherweight division, taking on Angel Prado in Hermosillo, Mexico. Valdez is from Nogales Sonora, Mexico. Prado, with a record of 1-1, is from Ensenada, Mexico. Valdez vs Prado is scheduled for six rounds. The two will box following the main event featuring Ulises ‘Archie’ Solis vs. Jesus Iribe.

Valdez is a two-time Mexican Olympian who is considered one of the best amateur in the history of Mexican boxing. He qualified at the age of 17 to the 2008 games in Beijing and to the just concluded games of 2012 in London. He is the first Mexican fighter to qualify for two different Olympic Games and the first one to win a world championship medal: Bronze in 2009 in Milan, Italy. Was the Flag bearer at the Central American Games in 2010, where he won a gold medal.

Valdez historic highlights: First Mexican to win the World Youth Tournament (2008), Bronze Medal in the 2009 Championship games; Gold Medal Central American Games (2010) and won Silver in Pan American Games (2011). Valdez came out of nowhere to upset 2007 Pan American champion Carlos Cuardras at the semifinal of the 2007 National Championships and then won the bantamweight championship in his next bout.

At the Olympic qualifier he edged out Brazilian James Pereira in the all-important semifinal and got one of two berths even though he dropped the final to Yankiel Leon, getting a silver medal and a pass to the Beijing Olympics with only 3 international bouts in his record.

In Beijing however he ran right into eventual gold medal winner Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan and lost his first bout 4-15. Later in 2008 he went up to featherweight and won the first 2008 Youth World Amateur Boxing Championships. The tournament was held Guadalajara in his home country, and he showed up the experience he had gained beating his opponents from Barbados, Uzbekistan, Kazahkztan, Ukraine and Russia. In the semi-finals he knocked out the Ukraine opponent in the first round. In the finals he was clearly dominating the opposition among other Russian Maxim Dadashev whom he beat 12-0 in the final.

In Milan, at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, he won the bronze medal and became the first Mexican to achieve a medal at a World Championship Tournament

Valdez won his first fight in the 2012 Olympic Games, defeating India’s Shiva Thapa by a margin of 14-9. In his second match of the games Valdez defeated Tajikistan’s Anvar Yunusov by a margin of 13-7 then lost 13-19 to John Joe Nevin in the quarterfinals.