Oscar Valdez goes from homeless to Mexico’s next great featherweight

Oscar Valdez was destined to succeed regardless what sport he chose to dedicate himself to.

Valdez could have been a shortstop in the big leagues or an Olympic swimmer in the butterfly event.

With a nudge from his father, Valdez decided to go the boxing route. Oscar Valdez Sr. didn’t mind taking his son to swimming competitions or baseball games, he just understood the potential he had in the ring.

“He was a great swimmer,” Valdez Sr. said in Spanish about his son. “He loved playing sports, but I kinda pushed him to be a boxer. Boxing is very hard and it’s something you need to focus on. I knew how good he was.”

Valdez Sr. made the right choice.

The younger Valdez will be fighting in his first championship match when he faces Matias Rueda for the vacant WBO featherweight title on the co-main event of the Terence Crawford-Viktor Postol card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday.

“I can’t believe I’m close to achieving my dream of becoming a world champion,” Valdez said. “I took my time getting here and there were a couple times I was demanding more tougher fighters. You hear the crowd wanting tougher fights, and that got to me a couple times, but I take it one day at a time now.”

Valdez (20-0, 17 knockouts) has always excelled quickly in anything he does, but it was his father and manager Frank Espinoza who put the brakes on his boxing career.

Valdez, 25, was a star in the making when he became the first Mexican boxer to win a gold medal at the AIBA youth world championships in 2008. At the age of 17, Valdez qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

He returned to the Olympics four years later in London, but lost the bronze medal match.

“That loss motivates me,” Valdez said. “I know how it feels to lose. I learned a lot from my amateur days. I’m glad I took my time going pro. I was just a kid in Beijing, but I took that experience with me.”

Losing his chance at bronze is the reason why Valdez doesn’t take any opponent lightly. Valdez is a big favorite to defeat Rueda (26-0 23 KOs), an unknown fighter from Argentina.

“He hasn’t fought much outside Argentina and people say he has only fought bums,” Valdez said. “I don’t know if he hits hard or not, but I’m not going to stay in there to find out. I’m going to come out aggressive, but also fight smart.”

Valdez was born in Nogales, Sonora, a Mexican bordertown next to Arizona. He left Mexico at the age of 1 and grew up in Tucson, Arizona.

Valdez won many youth swimming competitions in Arizona, but when he turned 10 his parents got divorced. Valdez moved back to Nogales to be with his father and that’s when boxing became a big part of his life.

The older Valdez was a former boxer and would let his son train with him at the local gym.

Valdez recalled the struggle his family endured after the divorce. Valdez said he and his siblings were homeless for a short period and moved often.

“My mom got married again and that’s when the problems started,” Valdez said. “You never want to complain, but we were pretty much homeless. My dad would move house to house with friends.

“This is why I take boxing serious. If I don’t do well, my family doesn’t eat.”

Valdez was forced to leave his family behind as a teenager to move into an Olympic Village three hours south from Nogales.

Valdez had his best outing when he recorded a fourth-round knockout against Evgeny Gradovich, a former featherweight champion, on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley in April at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

After the win, Valdez boldly called out two-division champion Vasyl Lomachenko. Valdez’s father later told him that wasn’t the best idea. Valdez is fighting for Lomachenko’s vacant title.

Bob Arum said Valdez’s confidence is a reason why he signed the Mexican boxer to Top Rank. Arum speaks highly of Valdez and compared him to Mexican greats Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

“He’s a great kid, good looking and speaks both languages,” Arum said. “We have special plans for him.”

Valdez doesn’t regret calling out Lomachenko, but doesn’t mind taking his time for the mega fights.

“I’ll be ready for that time,” he said.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24