Valdez Wins New York State Lightweight Title in Major Upset

In perhaps the biggest New York State title bout upset in recent years, a hungry and determined Edward Valdez overturned the apple cart and won the New York State Lightweight title by earning a unanimous eight round decision over defending champion Jonathan Cuba. The bout took place at Cordon Bleu Catering Hall in Woodhaven Queens, New York, on Friday, June 8, 2012. The Friday Night at The Fights card was co-promoted by Old World, New Legend and W.O.N. Promotions.

Former world champions Junior Jones, Luis Collazo, Amanda Serrano and Cindy Serrano, and popular local heavyweights Derric Rossy and Vincent Maddalone, were among boxers in attendance at the event. Collazo and Maddalone were among those who participated in charity raffles for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, which raised funds to help find better treatments and cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. Winners got their pictures taken with the boxers, which will be autographed and sent to them later.

Both fighters were of smaller height and proportions (giving the appearance of being in a much lower weight class than middleweight) and were thus evenly matched. However, the normally aggressive come forward champion Cuba did not fight like he did in both of his 2011 title bouts with Ariel Duran.

Valdez came forward like a hungry and patient focused cougar, stalking his prey and waiting for openings to pounce on his target. Cuba moved around the ring defensively retreating in a circle like a confused and desperate hyena, with no hope of getting the meal in front of him. Valdez pitched a come forward shutout for eight rounds, with Cuba not getting proper instructions and not changing his strategy till the eighth and final round, when it was already to late to win on points.

In the first, Valdez came forward and landed a number of cautious well-placed left jabs. Cuba did not counter, moving right with a good defense but not throwing anything. In the second, the two fighters alternated mixing it up in center ring and along the ropes. Valdez landed some hard overhand rights in close defensive rounds.

The third round turned into a wrestling war, with Valdez finally breaking the round open by landing a number of left hand leads to Cuba’s head with Cuba’s back to the ropes. The bout moved to center ring, where Valdez found a place for his overhand rights. Cuba tried to counter, but his punches missed the mark.

The fourth round was a telltale sign, with the hungry look on the face of Valdez turning the crowd at Cordon Bleu silent. Valdez landed a number of well-placed overhand lefts. The two fighters wrestled at the bell. In the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, Valdez continued to land overhand lefts consistently. Valdez complained to referee David Fields that Cuba was throwing elbows, to no avail. The bout appeared clean and there was no holding in the first seven rounds.

In the eighth round, Cuba finally changed strategy, and wrestled with Valdez in center ring, struggling to get inside and land punches. Perhaps Cuba won the final round, and perhaps Cuba won a fairly close first round, which accounted for Cuba winning two rounds on one scorecard, and one on another scorecard. Saddo scored the bout 79-73 for Valdez, which agreed with the scorecards.

Cuba’s corner should have told him to throw jabs and let his hands go from the third round on. They waited till the final round to tell him to do it. If Cuba had changed his approach midstream, the scorecards might have had a very different outcome. When Cuba wrestled inside Valdez in the final round, Valdez had trouble with Cuba’s change in style. Cuba’s change in approach did not allow for power shots in close, and with Valdez having seven rounds already in the bank, swinging for the knockout was probably more in order.

Valdez, a Dominican fighter out of New York City, now 9-8-2 (2), who lost 6 of 8 fights between 2006 and 2011, is clearly a much improved fighter and the physical conditioning and gym work showed. Valdez has won five of his last six bouts, with only a close decision loss to Puerto Rican southpaw Luis Gonzalez. Cuba, out of New York City, now 6-4-1 (4), unbeaten in five of his last six bouts coming in, has now inconsistently won, lost and drawn in his last three bouts.

Both fighters showed good sportsmanship with officials and each other after the bell, talking and enjoying good camaraderie. Cuba and Valdez are both big local favorites with the Cordon Bleu crowd, and have provided many competitive thrills.

In an all-Brooklyn lightweight bout on the undercard, Ian James, a fighter with a losing record, scored a first round knockdown of unbeaten prospect Angel ‘Sweetness’ Garcia, and went to score a split decision upset. Garcia had gotten cocky and tried immediately for a knockout, but James, a strange fighter threw wild left and right hooks which usually miss, nailed the careless Garcia coming in early in the first.

Garcia appeared to dominate from the third round on, but James appeared to throw more leather and was the busier fighter. It apparently was enough to get James the second round on two of the three scorecards as Garcia’s legs had not quite recovered, just enough for James to pull off the upset.

Cordon Bleu Undercard Bouts

Ian James SD 4 Angel Garcia, Lightweights (Garcia down in first)
Frank Galarza TKO1 Yolexcy Leiva-Martinez, Middleweights (2:59, Galarza cut)
Hamid Abdul-Mateen Draw 6 Alexander Mancera, Light Heavyweights
Patricia Alcivar W4 Vanessa Greco, Female Junior Bantamweights
Mikkel Lespierre (debut) KO 1 Miguel Rodriguez, Welterweights (1:47 of the first)
Christian Arreaga (debut) Win 4 Daniel Hernandez (debut) Junior Featherweights