After avenging his loss to Edwin De Los Santos, Valenzuela hopes to land a fight with some of the top names in the lightweight division. Among those Valenzuela is targeting is the trio of 135-pounders who will be in action on Saturday: IBF champion Raymond Muratalla, Lamont Roach Jr. and William Zepeda.

Roach, a former 130-pound world champion, and Zepeda are fighting for the vacant WBC lightweight title at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on DAZN and TNT. Muratalla will make his second title defense against Robson Conceicao in the co-main event.

Valenzuela (16-3, 10 KOs) believes facing the winner of Zepeda, The Ring’s No. 3-ranked lightweight, and Roach would make for a great fight, while Muratalla (24-0, 17 KOs), ranked No. 2, would be a stiff challenge.

“It's not an easy fight,” Valenzuela said on Inside the Ring. “Look, Muratalla, hell of a fighter. I would fight him out of respect for him, his trainer, and his father. He's another great fighter like myself who hasn't got the opportunity yet.”

Valenzuela, 27, said he favors Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) to beat Roach (25-1-3, 10 KOs) in their 12-rounder.

“I think my heart is with Zepeda,” Valenzuela said. “On paper, I think Roach probably, but late rounds, at the end, when the fight is in a tight squeeze, I think Zepeda is gonna pull it out.”

Valenzuela has won consecutive fights since losing his WBA 140-pound title to Gary Antuanne Russell in March of last year. He later aligned with Zuffa Boxing and defeated Diego Torres Nunez by a unanimous decision in his promotional debut February 1.

Valenzuela then avenged his 2022 stoppage loss to De Los Santos (17-3, 15 KOs) in emphatic fashion, stopping the Dominican southpaw in the second round on June 28. After hurting De Los Santos on numerous occasions, Valenzuela sent him to the canvas for good with a brutal right hook.

“The first fight, I was very young,” Valenzuela said. “I think that benefited me. I didn't get hurt too bad. I was able to bounce back from it. And coming back, I was ready. I wasn't playing when I was telling everybody I was ready, and I was coming for him. I was focused, which, in my case, I think is very important, and it showed on fight night.”