If baseball immortal Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat, what does that make awesome puncher Edwin Valero?
The Potentate of Punching? The Supreme Slugger? The man who put both the “K” and the “O” in knockout?
The 28 year old southpaw’s unblemished record puts him in the home run hitting class of a Ruth, Lou Gherig, a Hank Aaron.
Valero is 26-0 and all his foes have been banged out. If boxing came up with more guys like Valero, we wouldn’t have to worry about lousy judging because judges and irregular scorecards would be irrelevant.
There is so much to like about Valero. Personally, I make no bones about rooting for the Vicious Venezuelan unless and until he lands his ultimate dream fight against Manny Pacquiao.
Then I’ll be, ahem, “neutral” like a former Swiss banker named Richie Rich surely will be in the Mayweather-Mosley bout.
Valero has got what our Mexican friends like to call “the big eggs” ands he’s the one who does all the scrambling and poaching.
He seems to have a madcap life inside the ring and out.
This Saturday night he will seen all across the United States, a country he is presently legally barred from entering, on Showtime. Valero isdefending the WBC “regular” title against interim lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs) in Monterey, Mexico.
Fighting a tough guy in the opponent’s homeland is no biggie to Valero who stopped Panamanian Vincente Mosquera in Panamac back in 2006, a bout in which he had to labor for 10 full rounds.
Just prior to his stoppage of Mosquera, someone named Genaro Trazancos went all the way into the second round against the bombs away Valero.
That bout was preceded by–get this–18 bouts in which Valero finished off his foes in the opening round. Unfortunately for him, Valero is not Puerto Rican or Mexican. If he was, he’d already been a legendary boxer whose place in the puncher’s pantheon would be established.
But he’s had to labor in Japan, where he was treated exceptionally well by promoter Akihiko Honda, and where he and the very talented but disappointing to date Jorge Linares were stablemates. Linares, who is his countryman, adapted better to the Tokyo lifestyle.
Valero has a promotional deal with Top Rank but a DUI case, which seems to be misreported as being from Texas while Bob Arum has told me more than once happened in Nevada, has caused him to be barred from America.
(I’m hearing that Los Angeles based Frank Ronzio, a “go to” barrister for boxers and promoters facing immigration hurdles, is trying to better Valero’s legal standing.
One immigration attorney not connected to Valero’s case told me that drunk driving is labeled a “moral turpitude” crime and that Ronzio may be fighting an uphill battle. I do know many boxing people swear by Ronzio’s work so let’s keep our fingers crossed for Valero.)
The US entry problems come years after Valero, who was in a bad motorcycle accident early on in his pro career, was refused a boxer’s license on medical grounds by the New York commission.
At that time, Valero was under the wings of Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy outfit and seemed destined for stardom on HBO.
Valero may not have helped his own cause with repeated and foolish accusations that his US entry problem is related to his political backing of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, I don’t know. I doubt that any of our Homeland Security people are monitoring this boxer’s rants.
What I do know is that Valero is the eptiome of the fighter who comes to fight.
I spent a bit of time with him a couple of years ago in Cancun and have run across him briefly in Las Vegas.
He’s an enganging character who looked me in the eye and told me his two fists were collectively so powerful as to be worth $35 million. if I recall, he valued his right, the jabbing hand, as being worth $15 million and his left, the power hand, at $20 million.
Valero fighting Pacman seems like a dream obscured by mist and fog.
But I’ll tune in to watch him slam away at DeMarco. I just hope, as often happens when two lefties clash, it doesn’t turn into a stinker.
But Valero can control that with his persistent pressure, I think.
I’ll be in front of the telly, with Mexican beer and microwave popcorn, early like Billy Hurley.
If you’re a fight fan, you should also.
This hombre with the “huevos grandes” is fun to watch.
Valero has come to Mexico to fight a Mexican champion.
I hope nobody asks him to show them his “stinking badges.”
