Emanuel Navarrete looked sharp and reenergized tonight, knocking out Oscar Valdez in the sixth round to retain the WBO super featherweight championship in their rematch in Phoenix.

Navarrete dropped Valdez in the first, fourth, and sixth rounds, and snapped a two-fight winless streak by out-gunning his rival for a second time, this time winning inside the distance.

The knockout came on a lovely shot to the body, which Valdez tried to get up from but it just wasn’t in the legs for him anymore.

Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KO) had questions about his conditioning and dedication after going 0-1-1 in two bouts following his 2023 win over Valdez, and also had to have a hand surgery, which he says was the major issue in recent performances.

But whether Navarrete struggled chiefly because of the hand or in addition to other issues, this was clearly a more vintage version of “Vaquero,” who looked in very good shape and was just the better man against the game but overwhelmed Valdez (32-2, 24 KO).

It’s the first stoppage loss of the 33-year-old Valdez’s career, and he’s now 2-3 in his last five fights dating back to 2022. There will be questions in the Valdez camp in the coming days for sure but heart should not be one of them. The same can not be said about co-main event challenger Robeisy Ramirez.

In what has to be one of if not the oddest ending I have seen in a boxing match, just 12 seconds into the sixth round Ramirez quit, waving it off himself in a fight he may have been leading on the scorecards.

Ramirez says that elbows from Espinoza forced his decision, and that he was suffering from double vision, feeling that if the referee would not protect him from Espinoza’s fouling, he had no choice but to withdraw with the eye injury. In my humble opinion, he quit and in doing so disgraced himself and the sport tonight.

In the post fight interview he had this to say “I couldn’t see. Those were elbows that ended up hurting me, and I had to pull out of this fight. I’m happy with this decision,” Ramirez said, as translated by Bernardo Osuna.

“I think he was feeling the power and feeling my pressure coming on. The fight was turning in my favor,” Espinoza said, also translated by Osuna. I agree with Espinoza and I applaud him on yet another win and can not wait to see what happens next for the champ.

Prelim Results

Super lightweight: Lindolfo Delgado def. Jackson Marinez via fifth-round TKO (2:14) | Watch KO

Heavyweight: Richard Torrez Jr. def. Isaac Muñoz via third-round TKO (:59) | Watch KO

Super featherweight: Albert Gonzalez def. Gerardo Antonio Perez via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 79-73)

Super flyweight: Steven Navarro def. Gabriel Bernardi Cruz via second-round TKO (2:29) | Watch KO

Welterweight: Giovani Santillan def. Fredrick Lawson via first-round TKO (3:00) | Watch KO

Welterweight: Art Barrera Jr. def. Juan Carlos Campos Medina via second-round TKO (2:58) | Watch KO

Lightweight: Kevin Mosquera def. Cesar Morales via majority decision (38-38, 39-36, 38-37)

Super featherweight: DJ Zamora def. Roman Ruben Reynoso via second-round TKO (1:56) | Watch KO