OSCAR VALDEZ took a dip in the pool with his pet ALLIGATOR just days before his showdown with Shakur Stevenson.
The defending WBO super featherweight champion took some time away from his gruelling training camp to relax in his swimming pool.
Valdez’s alligator is named after the late Steve Irwin
And sat at the bottom of his plush pool was his alligator Steve, who looked happy as Larry chilling underwater.
Stunned boxing fans were quick to comment on the video of Valdez enjoying some downtime with Steve, with one saying: “Wtf is wrong wae people.”
Another said: “He’s got a set of stones on him like.”
And another said: “Tell me you don’t value your life without telling me you don’t value your life…”
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One remarked: “Bro how are u planning to win against a guy with a crocodile as a pet.”
Valdez’s infatuation with alligators and crocodiles was sparked by the late Steve Irwin, who he regularly watched on TV as a youngster.
He told RingTV.com: “I grew up watching Animal Planet and one of the big characters was Steve Irwin: ‘Crocodile Hunters’.
“One time I got a chance to meet a crocodile in a store in Monterrey, Mexico.
“I just bought it and ever since then, it’s gone from there.”
Valdez, 31, once owned two crocodiles and two alligators – although his crocs sadly passed away.
But he recently revealed he now only has one alligator at his family home now, saying: “One of them lives on the farm.
“A year-and-a-half ago I took him to the farm.
“I had him in my backyard but he was getting bigger and bigger. It wasn’t a good habitat for him.”
Oscar Valdez will lock horns with Shakur Stevenson in Las Vegas on Sunday morning
Despite having owned his alligators since they were babies, Valdez exercises the utmost caution around them.
He said: “I had them since they were very little but they’re still reptiles.
“If I put my hand on them they would bite it.
“I always treat them with respect. There’s ways how to get them. Obviously, I’m not going to put myself near his mouth.
“I put myself in a safe place. I would never risk my hands, that’s where my future’s at.
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“Every time I get them, I always treat it with caution, there are proper ways to grab him.”
Valdez will bid rip the WBO 130lb title from Stevenson’s clutches and claim the vacant Ring Magazine belt in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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