LAS VEGAS -- Round after round, Oscar Valdez's broken jaw was throbbing. He was bleeding from his mouth, swallowing his own blood and in a lot of pain.
His featherweight world title defense against Scott Quigg -- who was ineligible to claim the belt because he was overweight -- on March 10 at the rain-soaked Stub Center in Carson, California, was a hard, physical fight.
But Valdez, who suffered the broken jaw in the fifth round, persevered to win a unanimous decision -- 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 -- in his fourth and most difficult title defense.
As hard as the fight was -- the jaw was in such bad shape that trainer Manny Robles stopped taking out the mouthpiece between rounds, so as not to jostle his jaw -- Valdez said the aftermath was even more difficult, though he is on the mend and anxious to return to the ring.
"The fight was tough but I think after was even harder," Valdez told ESPN during a recent interview at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "Knowing you won the fight, knowing that the job is done, what boxers normally do is go eat. So that was pretty hard for me to have two months without being able to eat and doing nothing but drinking liquids. I went down in weight. I was pretty much at my weight class. I fight at 126, I was 127, 128, which is not really healthy."
Valdez had his mouth wired shut, which allowed him only to consume liquids for two months.
"I was just drinking liquids, protein shakes, a lot of (mashed) bananas, milk shakes," Valdez said. "Month and a half with my mouth shut and then they took the first wires off and I could open my mouth but it was two full months where I couldn't really eat. I couldn't chew. After two months, I was OK, flexing my jaw."
Valdez (24-0, 19 KOs), 27, a two-time Mexican Olympian, has been able to eat solid food for a little less than a month. He has put back on some weight and is feeling a lot better. He said as painful as the broken jaw was, it could have been a lot worse.
"It was broken, bone to bone, but no ligaments (were torn) so the doctor gave us good news that that will heal stronger and that it is very unlikely to happen again, he says," Valdez said. "So that was great news. As a boxer that will always be in my mind that my jaw was broken, but after what the doctor said, I'm good to go. I can't wait to start training camp. Right now I'm training. I'm running, hitting the bags but no sparring. In a few weeks I go back to the doctor so he can check me."
Valdez said he is pain free now and flexed his jaw for his interviewer.
"Less than a full week it was painful," Valdez said. "After that it got back to normal but it was painful not eating."
Valdez said reading so many positive comments about his brave performance on social media lifted his spirits when he was in the hospital and that he appreciates the fans who took time to message him.
"In the fight I was just going round by round and I was very happy I won because I knew I had my jaw broken," Valdez said. "When I was in the hospital I saw on social media people saying I'm a warrior and I got a lot of heart, so that brought nothing but joy to me. That was something I always wanted ever since I was a kid -- to be someone like (idol and new Hall of Famer) Erik Morales. I was very happy with that. Seeing those comments just motivated me more and more to go back in the gym."
Valdez is never going to be a defensive wizard but in his short title reign he has had three brutal fights in a row -- Quigg and defenses against Genesis Servania and Miguel Marriaga. The broken jaw has finally convinced him that he will need to be at least a little more responsible on defense if he wants to last in fights.
"Honestly, I don't want those fights because I could also box," he said. "I think I still have a lot to show to the fans. I always go in there trying to be defensive but I think sometimes you're forced to be in a war. Scott Quigg was the bigger fighter, the heavier fighter. He was very aggressive, which didn't allow me to be a boxer.
"Me and Manny were training the full three months of training camp -- all we did was try to box. Our game plan was to try to box. But sometimes you're forced to have these types of fights.
Now we know (we have to box more). I learned a lot from this fight."
Valdez is very anxious to set up his next fight but he likely won't fight until at least December. It's possible that his father, Oscar Valdez Sr., Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and manager Frank Espinoza will hold him out until early next year just to make sure the jaw is 100 percent and also to give him a long rest from so many grueling fights in a row.
"I would love to fight in December. We're just waiting on the doctor to give us the OK," Valdez said. "But me, personally, I feel OK. But obviously when I say these things my dad and Frank say no, we need a doctor's OK. So I'm just waiting on the doctor to give me the OK so I can go in there and fight. I know a boxing career is very short. I'm 27. I'm want to get as many fights as possible.
"Sometimes I get ahead of myself and then someone like my father comes in and Frank tells me to calm down and I just obey. They're the ones who know. We'll talk to Bob about when is my next fight. Hopefully, it will be soon because I can't wait to get in there."
