Every once in a blue moon a sport gets caught up in the hype of an athlete who accomplishes an amazing feat. In the past you’ve had the likes of Gretzky , Manning , Bonds and Valuev. Now you’re asking yourself , “who was that last person?” Exactly my point. Thus the term “get caught up in the hype ” applies here. Sometimes these jocks are the real deal , sorry Evander. Sometimes they end up being the great pretenders. Still fans live up to their correct term of fanatic. They climb aboard the bandwagon and hope it is a ride into history. But usually the ride ends up in a big pile of scrap once it crashes and burns.
We see the promise of the next big thing but refuse to see the cracks in the pedestal on which we have placed it. The names above are a mix of truth and lies. Gretzky and Manning lived up to their hype. Bonds crashed because his ego wouldn’t let him play out his already hall of fame career without the use of steroids. And is there a bigger name than Valuev on the list. Sight unseen the press asserted that any giant who could box must be a living legend in the making. That was before we saw him and realized that maybe a little talent and a little pop might actually be needed to even make him a decent fighter. Until we see it with our own eyes we will forever be a mankind that yearns to believe the hype machine.
So now we welcome to our boxing stage , Edwin Valero. When the name Pacquiao is brought up you can be sure that Valero’s name is not far behind. Why? Because Edwin has two things going for him that make a promoter’s heart race , power and hype. But so did John Mugabi. Mugabi was “The Beast” that was the future of the middleweights in the 80’s. He was a knockout artist who ended his fights in one or two rounds. Then he went to war with Marvin Hagler and lost. Then he lost to more fighters that could survive the first two rounds and could avoid being hit by his thudding punches. In a very short time the hype machine known as Mugabi had crashed and burned and was never heard from again.
So is Valero the new Mugabi? Valero’s prefame claim is his amazing knockout streak. The 5’6″ “Dinamita” stopped his first 18 opponents in the first round. He has since gone 7 and 0 to extend his record to an incredible 25-0 with 25 ko’s. Most of his wins have come against no name boxers and generally weak opposition. But that’s how most fighters get started. Sometimes the facts speak for themself and maybe Edwin is one of boxing’s great punchers.
In August of 2006 Valero fought veteran Vincente Mosquera. Mosquera took Valero into the tenth round before being stopped. So that proved his wins weren’t a fluke. Then on April 4 of this year Edwin took on number five ranked lightweight Antonio Pitalua. Edwin ended it in the second.
So we know that Valero is a good and powerful fighter that must be looked at as a legitimate contender. But how good is he? Valero does have quick hands but they appear quicker than they are because he hasn’t faced a really fast opponent as of yet. To see his record one would believe him to be a one punch knockout artist. The fact is that he is a stay busy , volume puncher who overwhelms his competition. He has power but not the kind that its being hyped to be. Youtube Valero’s fights and you will find a lefthander that stalks his prey while throwing shots from various angles and mixes in an excellent straight left. His bad habits are that he keeps his chin up and hands down. He can and has been tagged by lesser fighters. There is also video of him sparring a younger up and comer named Urbano Antillon. Antillon seemed more than capable of holding his own with Valero , but remember it was just sparring.
Is Edwin Valero a contender? That is definitely a yes. Beating Pitalua proved that , but the elite of the division could shatter his dreams. Him and his fans are calling out Pacquiao. This is probably a call he wants to hang up on before it goes through. One reason this fight wont happen is because Valero is not a name here in America. He has just been cleared to fight in certain states following a head injury several years ago. That means he can’t fill Manny’s wallet the way some other boxers can. The second reason is that Valero is just not ready for Pacquiao right now. Until he improves his defense Valero would be an easy target. His fans would say that he could go toe to toe with Manny , that would be an easy fight to call…Pacquiao winning by ko in 1.
As of now Edwin Valero is definitely a contender for a lightweight belt , but until he fights more of the big names he will be considered a pretender to the pound for pound throne.
