Boxers often offer excuses about training troubles following losses.

It is rare, however, for a fighter to explain experiencing problems in camp after dominating an opponent and winning by knockout. Oscar Valdez’s preparation prior to his 10th-round stoppage of Jayson Velez was so shaky, the undefeated former WBO featherweight champion wasn’t exactly confident that their junior lightweight fight would unfold the way that it did July 21 in Las Vegas.

“I was happy that I won, but I’m my own worst critic,” Valdez told BoxingScene.com. “I’m very hard on myself, that I can always do better. And that particular camp – and I hardly tell anybody this, what I’m about to say – I had a rough training camp. I wasn’t feeling right. I had a lot of back injuries. I know nobody likes people who put excuses out there, and I don’t mean to give excuses.

“But it wasn’t a good training camp. I just felt off, and I was a little bit nervous going into that fight because I wasn’t a hundred-percent ready physically. I was there mentally. I think that’s what won me the fight. But physically, I felt strong, but I didn’t feel I had a great training camp.”

Valdez (28-0, 22 KOs), who’ll challenge Mexican rival Miguel Berchelt for the WBC super featherweight title Saturday night, didn’t display any signs of a troublesome training camp versus Velez (29-7-1, 21 KOs). The two-time Mexican Olympian mostly employed the tactical game plan designed by trainer Eddy Reynoso.

The 30-year-old Valdez dropped Puerto Rico’s Velez once in the fifth round and twice in the 10th round, before referee Tony Weeks stopped their televised main event with just 37 seconds remaining in it. Valdez became the first foe to stop Velez in the durable veteran’s 13-year, 37-fight career.

A relieved Valdez didn’t know what to expect once he arrived at MGM Grand for fight week seven months ago.

“My body was reacting very weird,” Valdez said. “And the coronavirus was there. We had to go run in different spots. Sometimes we wouldn’t train a hundred percent. So, I knew I could do better in that fight. I knew I could do better. Thank God we got the victory. I stopped Jayson Velez. I was happy for that. But I did get hit with a couple of shots that I shouldn’t get hit with. I said, ‘I should’ve done better this. I should’ve done better that.’ ”

Valdez took just two weeks off following his impressive victory over Velez before he returned to the gym. He was scheduled to battle Berchelt (38-1, 34 KOs) on December 12, but their 12-round, 130-pound championship match was postponed two months because Berchelt tested positive for COVID-19.

The postponement aside, Valdez feels much fresher physically this week than he did entering the Velez fight.

“This camp, there’s no excuses,” Valdez said. “I feel great. We’ve been working very good, no injuries. Sparring is great, the work ethic is great. I just feel extremely healthy and extremely good for this fight. So, our last performance, I wasn’t really too happy. But that just shows me that now I’m better than I was in my last camp, so I should do a lot better this fight.”

ESPN will broadcast Berchelt-Valdez as the main event Saturday night from MGM Grand Conference Center (10 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. PST). Velez is scheduled to box unbeaten 130-pound prospect Gabriel Flores Jr. (19-0, 6 KOs), of Stockton, California, in the 10-round co-feature. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.