Jamel Herring Wants Title Unification Bout Against Oscar Valdez

Jamel Herring is looking to fight Oscar Valdez next time out.

On Saturday, Herring beat Carl Frampton by sixth-round TKO to defend his WBO junior lightweight title in Abu Dhabi. Before the fight even happened, Herring mentioned Oscar Valdez as a potential next opponent.

“I will say, Oscar Valdez has entered the equation,” Herring told BoxingScene.com. “His name has popped up quite a bit. I’ve heard rumors on his side that he is interested in unifying as well. We all know that there is the Shakur [Stevenson] fight out there. He’s the mandatory and—look, I love Shakur. He’s a good dude and a good friend of mine. I believe he’s fighting in June. That might provide us with that wiggle room to squeeze one in.”

Although many thought Herring would fight Miguel Berchelt, Oscar Valdez spoiled those plans with a KO. With that, Herring knows the fight against Valdez makes sense.

“All love and respect to Oscar Valdez. I was rooting for him because I knew he’d want to fight me,” Herring said. “Miguel Berchelt was a great champion. I pray and hope that he is doing well, not only did he suffer the loss the way he did but also came out of battling with Covid before then like I had to. I never want to see anyone have to worry about those long-term effects. In his case, I hope he fully recovers.

“As for my future, I would love to unify with Oscar Valdez. If we can’t get that fight, then I’d love to become a two-division champion by winning at lightweight,” Herring continued. “First things first, though. We can’t look past Carl Frampton. I love and respect everything about Carl Frampton and all that he’s accomplished. This will be a great win for my resume once I’m done.”

Would you like to see Jamel Herring vs. Oscar Valdez?