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The talk and hype surrounding Edwin Valero has been less then flattering over the last two years, in fact other than the admission of Valero’s power, most of the time he is referenced as a one dimensional slugger with an untested chin who is going to fall hard when he faces a real opponent.
Much of the limited praise has to do with the fact that Valero has had only a handful of fights in the United States, most of them early in his career. When he faced Vicente Mosquera for the WBA super featherweight title in 2006, Mosquera’s own list of opposition was far from stellar, leaving little to help build Valero’s legitimacy.
Edwin Valero fits the stereotype of many fighters that hail from small countries where most of their wins are over part time fighters just looking to make an extra buck. When Valero left the super featherweight division in April, 2009 to face Antonio Pitalua for the vacant WBC version of the lightweight belt, most critics questioned if his power would follow him up the weight class jump.
The win over Pitalua and title gain again did little to impress because just like Mosquera, Pitalua had a history of fighting soft opposition himself; just two bouts prior to the one with Valero he faced a fighter making his debut and the combined record of his three prior opponents before that had been 0-8.
This did little to make Valero’s stoppage win impressive anywhere but on paper. So, when Valero was scheduled to face Antonio DeMarco, the interim WBC champion, a well rounded fighter with good stamina, a good chin and a 15 fight win streak, many thought Valero would be exposed for what he was, nothing more than fighter with questionable power, handpicked opponents and an over exaggerated reputation that has been built on word of mouth more than actual footage available.
The bout against DeMarco started out just as many thought it would, Valero shooting in with hard shots trying to make a short night’s work and DeMarco, known to be a slow starter, sizing his man up to so to make easy work of him later on in the fight.
DeMarco’s people were banking on the fact that Valero had only been to the tenth round once in his career and never against an opponent of DeMarco’s caliber. The first round showed nothing either way except for the fact that DeMarco seemed to handle Valero’s shots with relative ease.
The second round though brought the drama needed to make this fight one that would provide answers to the questions we all had been asking. How was Edwin Valero going to react when put into a real fight?
Early in the second round during an exchange, Valero was caught with an accidental elbow to the forehead, opening up a horrific cut. The blood was flowing at full capacity almost immediately and the ref stopped the bout for the doctor’s examination. The result was a two inch cut that was so deep it had reached bone, not to mention at the round’s end Valero had another cut on his eyelid.
After some quick work by his cut man it was time to see what Valero was made of. When the third round started, Valero came out as a fighter looking to finish the bout before things got out of control, taking the fight to DeMarco with a sense of desperation.
When the fourth round had ended, Valero had his mouth open looking as if he was starting to gas out. DeMarco’s people pointed that out to Tony, telling him the fight was going to be his soon and to pick up the pace.
When the fifth round began, it was anything but what the scenario appeared to be. Valero starting changing his style; instead of just looking for a knockout, he began using his footwork, moving in and out and throwing six, seven and eight punch combinations before avoiding any counter shots DeMarco attempted.
While Valero’s mouth was still open, his pace never slowed. In fact, often enough he picked up the pace. In front of our eyes we were watching a fighter considered to be over hyped, one dimensional and untested turn into a skilled boxer who used the whole ring, countered and went unfazed by two cuts that have ended fights for better known champions past or present.
When the eighth round had ended, Tony DeMarco seemed like a fighter on the verge of collapse, not only from the amount of punches he absorbed, but the blistering pace Valero kept up throughout the bout.
After some deliberation from DeMarco’s corner if he should continue or not, they agreed to one more round. That seemed to be a horrible mistake as Valero just stepped up that pace and delivered more abuse that was unanswered by his opponent. The only smart decision on behalf of DeMarco and his corner that night was to stay on the stool for round 10.
As Valero celebrated in victory, onlookers were left wondering “What more does Edwin Valero have to offer?” Tony DeMarco is not a pound for pound rated fighter but he is one of the lightweight division’s most talented prospects and certainly he is no walk over opponent. DeMarco is world class with better than average skills and credible knockout percentage. Certainly, DeMarco is a fighter that would have been able to take advantage of most opponents who were in the position Valero found himself in after round two.
After all the events of Saturday’s fight, certainly now Edwin Valero is worthy of praise. He answered all the questions critics have been asking about his grit. He put the boxing world on notice that there is more to him than knockout power and when necessary, he will go into his bag of tricks. Exactly how many tricks are in that bag is yet to be seen. At the age of 28, Valero still has plenty of time to fill that bag up even more.
So with the main questions about Valero answered, what questions are left? Will he become one of the sport’s biggest starts over the next few years? I don’t see why not, considering his exciting style. Will he continue to improve? I am not certain we have seen everything Valero has to offer, considering his performance Saturday but at the moment there is nothing to make us think otherwise.
What is next for Valero? After some much needed time to heal, the lightweight division is wide open for him and a unification bout with one of the other champions is almost certain.
Regardless of what is next for Edwin Valero, any fight he is in will now be looked upon with a bit more attention. The only reason why any promoter would want to keep their fighter away from him now would be nothing more than avoidance.
The word is out that Edwin Valero is not a one dimensional slugger and now there is plenty of tape to prove it.
