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Mike CoppingerESPN
WBC junior lightweight world titlist Oscar Valdez defends his belt against Robson Conceicao on Friday (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with undercard fights starting at 6:10 p.m. ET) in Tucson, Arizona.
Valdez tested positive for the banned substance phentermine in August, but the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission allowed Valdez to fight at the Casino Del Sol. The WBC decided not to strip Valdez of his title, stating that “this is not a performance-enhancing drug,” and that “Valdez will have absolutely no advantage and the challenger will have no risk.”
Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs), 30, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, won the title by defeating Miguel Berchelt by a 10th-round TKO in February, in a great performance.
Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs), 32, of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, has won three of his last five fights by stoppage, including a seventh-round TKO victory over Jesus Antonio Ahumada in April.
Also on the card, WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani (21-0, 16 KOs), 23, of Inabe-gun, Mie, Japan, faces power puncher Angel Acosta (22-2, 21 KOs), 30, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in a 12-round battle. Top prospects Gabriel Flores Jr., Xander Zayas and Lindolfo Delgado will also be in action in separate bouts.
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Rene Tellez Giron vs. Eduardo Garza, 6 rounds, junior lightweights
Results:
Omar Aguilar def. Carlos Manuel Portillo by second-round KO.
Fight recap coming up …
Still to come:
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Title fight: Oscar Valdez vs. Robson Conceicao, 12 rounds, for Valdez’s WBC junior lightweight title
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Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Luis Alberto Lopez Vargas, 10 rounds, junior lightweights
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Title fight: Junto Nakatani vs. Angel Acosta, 12 rounds, for Nakatani’s WBO flyweight title
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Xander Zayas vs. Jose Luis Sanchez, 6 rounds, junior middleweights
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Lindolfo Delgado vs. Miguel Zamudio, 8 rounds, welterweights