Edwin Valero (26-0, 26KO) has been vocal about a fight with undisputed pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao for some time, and will look to get one step closer to his goal when he takes on Antonio De Marco (23-1, 17KO) on Saturday night.
Currently a lightweight champion, Valero would have to climb the ranks if he were to secure a Pacquiao fight, and probably either have to win a title along the way or at least look impressive against decent competition.
The trouble with Valero climbing the ranks though is that his style of boxing would leave him a potentially easy target for the more skilled boxers of the heavier divisions.
His big hitting and often ragged style works well at lightweight because he can cut the ring off well and out punches anyone he comes up against.
Trying that against much bigger men though, some of which might hit harder or be able to take Valero’s best shots without buckling, might well be a recipe for disaster.
Given that Valero has yet to go past the tenth round, predicting how he would react against someone who isn’t going to be knocked out in the first few rounds is difficult at this stage.
After all Valero’s biggest claim to fame at the moment is his record of 26 wins with 26 knockouts, which would probably have to come to an end should he start getting heavier.
There are fighters who have managed the feat in the past, Manny Pacquiao himself is a good example of someone who has maintained his power at increasingly higher weights, but not everyone can do it by any means.
The Pacquiao of today is also a lot more than just a heavy hitter without much in the way of anything else to back it up. Valero is more comparable to the Pacquiao of old, and would be facing a veritable chasm in the skills department should the two meet.
The bout would be interesting in that Pacquiao has tended to use his speed a lot more as he has climbed the weight classes, and against the similar sized Valero this wouldn’t be as telling as usual.
Also Valero might be the bigger puncher on the night, so long as he does climb the ranks properly and takes time to put the extra size on the right way.
For the time being though, Valero has smaller fish to fry, and needs to look impressive against De Marco if he wants to keep building his name and his hype as a genuine contender to someone like Pacquiao.
A fight against someone like Juan Manuel Marquez might be a good next fight for Valero if he could pull it off, which would have the added benefit of being a fighter Pacquiao struggled with.
