By Keith Idec

Oscar Valdez isn’t interested in discussing potential unification fights or anything other than facing Miguel Marriaga.

Valdez considers Marriaga the toughest opponent of his career, a powerful puncher clearly capable of knocking the undefeated Valdez off his path toward stardom. Mexico’s Valdez (21-0, 19 KOs) is scheduled to defend his WBO world featherweight title against Colombia’s Marriaga (25-1, 21 KOs) on April 22 in the main event of a Top Rank pay-per-view card at StubHub Center in Carson, California.

“I think he’s a very, very tough fighter,” Valdez told BoxingScene.com before a press conference Tuesday to officially announce the show. “He’s a fighter that a lot of boxers have ducked because he’s a strong fighter. We saw it with Nicholas Walters, how tough he is. His only loss was to Walters. The only reason was because [Walters] was a heavier fighter. He didn’t make weight and he was just heavier than [Marriaga]. But Marriaga’s a tough fighter, which I have to respect.”

Jamaica’s Walters (26-1-1, 21 KOs) gave up his WBA world featherweight title at the scale by weighing in at 127 pounds the day before he fought Marriaga in June 2015 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Walters won a decisive unanimous decision over Marriaga (119-108, 118-109, 117-110), but Marriaga has gone 5-0 since Walters beat him, including three wins by knockout.

“My game plan is always to try to be the smarter fighter in there,” Valdez said. “I’m not worried about his punch. I’m not gonna stay in there to see how hard he hits. So I’m always trying to be the smarter fighter in the ring and try to out-box my opponent.”

The 26-year-old Valdez stopped Russia’s Evgeny Gradovich (22-2-1, 9 KOs) in the fourth round of what he considers his toughest fight to date. The former Mexican Olympian expects a stronger challenge from Marriaga, the No. 1 contender for his WBO 126-pound championship, than Gradovich gave him April 9 in Las Vegas.

“I’m just concentrating on this fight because I know Marriaga’s not an easy opponent. I think I’ll win, but I don’t wanna get ahead of myself. Like I said, Marriaga’s a very tough fighter and I don’t wanna look [beyond] him.”

The Valdez-Marriaga match will headline a four-fight pay-per-view telecast April 22.

The broadcast also will include fights featuring WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez (34-0, 24 KOs) and WBO super bantamweight champion Jessie Magdaleno (24-0, 17 KOs), as well as the pro debut of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson.

Ramirez will defend his 168-pound championship against Ukraine’s Max Bursak (33-4-1, 15 KOs) in a 12-round fight.

Las Vegas’ Magdaleno is set to make the first defense of the 122-pound championship he won from Nonito Donaire by winning a unanimous decision November 5 in Las Vegas. Magdaleno will battle Brazil’s Adeilson Dos Santos (18-2, 14 KOs) in a 12-rounder.

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