Jose Valenzuela vs Diego Torres Preview February 1st, 2026
Former WBA Junior Welterweight Champion Jose Valenzuela of Mexico returns to the squared circle this Sunday, February 1st to battle it out with fellow countryman Diego Torres. The southpaw Valenzuela lost his title the last time out when he dropped a wide unanimous decision to Gary Antuanne Russell in March. The 10-round lightweight bout from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on Paramount+. Valenzuela originally won the title in August, 2024 when he edged Isaac Cruz via a split decision. Valenzuela earned his shot against Cruz by stopping Chris Colbert in the sixth round in of a rematch in December, 2023. The pair first fought nine months earlier with Colbert winning a controversial 10-round unanimous decision by scores of 95-94 across the board. Torres last fought in August when he stopped Ridwan Oyekola in the fifth round.
Valenzuela vs Torres Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Diego Torres +366
- Jose Valenzuela -550
My Pick
The 26-year-old Valenzuela makes the ring walk with a mark of 14-3 with 9 Ko’s and has fought just 85 rounds since making his pro debut in 2018. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach. He has decent power in his arsenal as 64.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, including eight of his past 10. Valenzuela made the boxing headlines when he stopped former world champion Francisco Vargas in just 85 seconds in April, 2022 for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title.
However, he was stopped himself in the third round five months later by Edwin De Los Santos and lost the belt. He then dropped his second straight contest when Chris Colbert edged him in their first battle via a controversial 10-round unanimous decision. Valenzuela’s first 11 opponents were basically novices and journeymen as he kicked off his pro career and made his way up the lightweight ranks. He then shocked a lot of fans by taking the WBA Junior Welterweight title from Issac Cruz in his first fight in the weight division. He’s now heading back to lightweight for this weekend’s fight.
Torres is now 28 years of age and climbs through the ropes with an impressive mark of 22-1 with 19 Ko’s and has fought 91 rounds since turning pro in 2019. He has a better knockout ratio than Valenzuela as 86.4 per cent of his victories have come by stoppages with six of them coming in the first round. He’s gone the distance just three times as a pro and his only pro defeat came at the hands of Raymond Muratlla via an eighth-round TKO in 2023 in a shot at the WBO Global, and NABF Lightweight Titles.
Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information available for Torres so we can’t compare him size-wise to Valenzuela. We do know he hasn’t really fought a high level of opposition though other than Muratalla and this will be just his second fight outside of Mexico, where he has basically taken on local opposition. His biggest wins have been against Miguel Angel Hernandez, Nery Saguilan, Francisco Gabriel Pina, Jose Valenzuela Diaz and Jonathan Escebedo Martinez.
Prediction…
Both boxers possess good power with Torres having a bit more of it but he hasn’t consistently faced upper-level competition. This could be an exciting fight as long as it lasts if they both decide to let their hands go and both have been stopped before. Valenzuela has lost three of his past five fights so this is a crucial contest for him. This could go either way but I think if Valenzuela can handle Isaac Cruz he should be able to deal with Torres unless he walks right into something.
Valenzuela’s experience against tougher opposition should be the difference.
Play Valenzuela -550 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Diego Torres betting • Jose Valenzuela betting