Miguel Berchelt no longer has the WBC junior lightweight title after a devastating knockout loss to Oscar Valdez on Saturday night, but the good news is that the 29-year-old Mexican fighter says his post-fight exams went alright, and he’s going to be back in the ring.
“I want to tell you that I’m fine, thank God my tests went well,” Berchelt said in a release. “It was not my night, and without a doubt it hurts a lot in my soul, but that’s the way it is. You win and lose, it is not the first time I have lost and I promise I will return stronger.”
“I want to acknowledge all the work of Oscar Valdez. We Mexicans are warriors and we waged a war. Without a doubt, it is a night I will never forget, and you can be sure that I will work tirelessly to become world champion again.”
Berchelt (37-2, 33 KO) had some trouble making the 130-pound limit on Friday, and had even more trouble dealing with the speed and evasiveness of Valdez (29-0, 23 KO) on Saturday. He took a pretty bad beating in the fight, which saw him brutally knocked out at the end of the 10th round, but he also came forward the entire fight, even after being badly hurt several times, and dropped in the fourth and ninth rounds.
Berchelt doesn’t say yet, and will have to think about it moving forward, but there’s a chance he’ll be moving up to lightweight, of course, at least as long as there’s no Valdez rematch. Promoter Bob Arum isn’t dismissing that idea, but there’s already some real heat — including Arum stating big interest — behind Valdez instead facing Shakur Stevenson next.