By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated super featherweight and former world champion Oscar Valdez (27-0, 21 KO’s) of Tucson, Arizona by way of Nogales, Sonora Mexico is back as he takes on former world title challenger Puerto Rico’s Jayson Velez (29-6-1, 21 Kos) headlining on ESPN from the “Bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I feel blessed to be back in the ring and go back to work. I am really excited for this and I can’t wait to put up a good fight,” Oscar Valdez told Fightnews.com®. “I can’t wait to step back in the ring.”

Valdez got off the canvas to stop Adam Lopez his last fight.

“My last fight was in November and I wasn’t too happy with my performance. So now I want to get back in that ring and prove to myself that I will be a titleholder.”

Last year saw Valdez score wins over Carmine Tommasone, Jason Sanchez, and Lopez.

“Right now, I’m just trying to enjoy the ride and enjoy the moment,” Valdez stated.

The former WBO featherweight champion, Valdez was scheduled to fight early this year however COVID-19 like many of us derailed his early plans for 2020. Valdez and his team relocated to Mexico during the pandemic.

“We were in camp in January in California and when the pandemic hit, we went to Mexico to stay active,” Valdez said. “Back home it was complicated. We had some things to work on. A treadmill, shadow box, and punching bag is all I had to work with, but we stayed active.”

Officially scheduled to return, Valdez and his team held camp in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico working with 2019 Trainer of the Year Eddie Reynoso in preparation for the fight with Velez. Reynoso has made a name for himself as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s only trainer.

“We got the call that we might get a fight, so we started training for a possible fight. Now we have a fight. Training camp is good we were in Guadalajara with Eddie we had a great camp,” Valdez said about his preparation. “The sparring sessions were great. We had a lot of prospects out here in Guadalajara, sparring partners were Diego Torres, and Randy Lozano,” Valdez added.

The respected trainer has also had a growing stable of fighters which include Ryan Garcia, Luis Nery, flyweight world champion Julio Cesar Martinez, and new addition former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz.

“Eddie is just a great coach. I am always learning every day with him. His stable and list of fighters says a lot.”

For his opponent, Jayson Velez he is coming off a razor-thin split decision loss to Jaime Arboleda early this year in February. Velez has been in the ring with Evegeny Gradovich, Ronny Rios, Joseph Diaz Jr, Rene Alvarado, Juan Manuel Lopez, Ryan Garcia, and Victor Terrazas.

“Jayson is a good fighter. A tall fighter, He has six losses but that doesn’t mean nothing. He has been a world title contender, so he knows there is a possible opportunity for a title.”

Looking to make a statement in the super featherweight division, Valdez hopes to win a second world title in his second weight class. There was talk about a potential showdown with WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt to take place early this year but that never developed due to the recent state.

“The fight was already supposed to take place and that is why I was already training. Then the pandemic hit,” Valdez explained. “Berchelt is a good fighter but I can’t overlook Jayson Velez. So, I will go in against Velez then if I come out with the win. We can start talking about Berchelt fight,” Valdez added.

Other champions and notable fights at 130 include former world champion Carl Frampton, WBO champion Jamel Herring and WBA champion Leo Santa Cruz.

“Every champion out there in that division is great. It will be hard to be a champion at 130 with Alvarado, Alacaran Berchelt, Joseph Diaz. The main thing is to become world champion whoever it is that is who we want to fight. I’m not getting any younger. I have no time to wait. I don’t want to wait six months for another fight. I don’t want to say later, I should’ve fought this guy.”

If all goes well Tuesday night against Velez, expect for Valdez to call out some of the top names in the super featherweight division.

“Expect a good fight. When you have a Mexican and Puerto Rican in the ring it makes for good fights, the tradition. This will be a good fight for the fans on ESPN don’t miss hopefully everyone enjoys,”

Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla