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Just a few days ago, during a friendly gathering over coffee and boxing talk —still fresh from the recent clash between Canelo Álvarez and Terence “Bud” Crawford, which ended in a decisive points win for the latter— someone at the table, for no apparent reason, brought up the name of the late and tragic Venezuelan warrior Edwin “El Inca” Valero (March 3, 1981, Mérida – April 19, 2010, Valencia, Venezuela).
There was no debate in the room: Valero stands as one of the ten greatest Venezuelan fighters in history, a member of that select list usually topped by Caracas-born Carlos “Morocho” Hernández, the first-ever world champion born on Venezuelan soil.
I promised my fellow boxing fans that I would revisit an article I wrote some time ago about Valero —I can’t even recall exactly when— and here it is again, this time expanded and revisited.
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“El Inca,” One of a Kind
Venezuelan slugger Edwin “El Inca” Valero holds a truly unique place in the history of modern boxing —a sport that officially dates back to September 7, 1892, when the Marquess of Queensberry Rules were first applied in a New Orleans ring. Those rules, drafted by English athlete and journalist John Graham Chambers (1843–1883), shaped the sport we know today.
Since that day, tens of millions of fighters have stepped into the ring. And yet, remarkably, only eleven of them —just eleven— retired undefeated.
Among that rare fraternity are legendary names like Floyd Mayweather Jr., who hung up the gloves on August 2, 2017, after a tenth-round TKO of MMA star Conor McGregor, marking his 50th win (26 by knockout). Another is Namibia’s Harry Simon, who reigned as WBO super welterweight and middleweight champion, and later as IBF light heavyweight titlist between 1998 and 2013, retiring with a 31-0 (23 KOs) record.
But Valero’s case stands apart. The Venezuelan dynamo —gone far too soon at just 28 years old— earned a distinction no one else in that elite circle can claim: he won every single one of his 27 professional fights by knockout, 18 of them in the very first round.
That streak was once a world record until middleweight Tyrone Brunson broke it years later, scoring 19 consecutive first-round KOs between April 22, 2005, and March 29, 2008.
Valero was a two-division world champion —WBA super featherweight and WBC lightweight— and with a 100% knockout ratio over 67 rounds, he remains a phenomenon without equal.
It’s perhaps for that reason that many Venezuelans still believe “El Inca” could have even stopped Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao —the only man to win world titles in eight different weight classes— had that dream fight ever come to pass.
To close, here’s the rest of the exclusive, undefeated fraternity that shares Valero’s legacy —listed by total wins, with knockouts in parentheses:
1. Ricardo “Finito” López (Mexico) – Minimum & Light Flyweight: 51 (38)-0-1
2. Rocky Marciano (USA) – Heavyweight: 49 (43)-0-0
3. Joe Calzaghe (UK) – Super Middleweight & Light Heavyweight: 46 (32)-0-0
4. Sven Ottke (Germany) – Super Middleweight: 34 (6)-0-0
5. Michael Loewe (Mihai Leu, Romania) – Welterweight: 28 (10)-0-0
6. Terry Marsh (UK) – Super Welterweight: 26 (10)-0-1
7. Pichit Sitbangprachan (Thailand) – Flyweight: 24 (16)-0-0
8. Ji Won Kim (South Korea) – Super Bantamweight: 18 (7)-0-0
9. Harry Simon (Namibia) – Super Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight: 31 (23)-0-0
And standing proudly among them —the one and only knockout artist who never went the distance— Edwin “El Inca” Valero.
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