The average man on the street has not a clue who Edwin Valero 26-0 (26) is. However to boxing fans, he is an important fighter. A devastating puncher, his fights have been watched by hardcore fans on grainy/ foreign clips up to now. Banned from boxing there by the New York State Athletic Commission in 2004 after problems arose from an MRI scan showing problems from a 2001 motorcycle accident, this only added to the myth behind Valero.
His knockout record will end when he fights someone decent a lot of us said. Well Valero is still unbeaten and is already a two weight world champion. He won the WBA super featherweight title in 2006 and after four successful defenses moved up and took the WBC lightweight crown. He has made one successful defense of this and tomorrow night takes on his best opponent to date. Antonio DeMarco 23-1-1 (17) will be in the opposing corner.
For the first time in his career, Valero will be heading a card televised by the American company Showtime and this is the first time the mainstream boxing public will get to watch him in action.
DeMarco is the interim WBC champion and is only 24 years old. He will be fighting
in his home country of Mexico and we know how the Mexican crowds get behind their
man. His last four fights have been against good men but he has struggled in three
of them.
Jose Reyes took DeMarco to a split decision in 2008, Almazbek Raiymkulov was stopped in nine in February 2009 and Anges Adjaho was stopped in 9 in an eliminator for the WBC title (although DeMarco was behind on points). DeMarco though is tough, he can fight in the trenches and can also box.
Lets make no bones about it. Although he has improved dramatically Valero cannot really box at all. He is a bit crude and sometimes when he comes forward it looks like he has never laced on a pair of gloves before. However he seems to have a good chin, good stamina (both unusual for a puncher) and there is no doubting his impressive power.
So who wins the fight?
As people who read my articles will know I normally leave a prediction for an upcoming bout but for this fight I am passing. It would not surprise me if Valero walks through DeMarco and stops him early. At the same point I would not be overly surprised if DeMarco gets through the early rounds and starts to outbox Valero.
If I had to make a bet with every pound/dollar I owned I would go for Valero but if I only wanted to make a small bet I think I might be tempted to go for DeMarco to produce the upset.
By JIMMY LAST (EDITOR)
