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It has been twelve years since ticking time bomb Venezuelan boxer, Edwin Valero had committed suicide in a jail cell after admitting to murdering his wife in 2010. He left behind an unbeaten record of 27-0 with all of them wins coming by way of a knockout. I remember there already being talks among fans of a potential fight between Valero and eight division champion Manny Pacquiao. That bout was quickly becoming appetising for a lot of people as Valero was blasting his way through the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions.
Valero had initially failed an MRI scan in 2004 and so was not allowed to box in the United States until 2008 when he was finally cleared to fight in Texas.
Edwin won the WBA super-featherweight title in his 20th fight when he knocked out Vicente Mosquera and he racked up four defences before moving up and capturing the vacant WBC lightweight crown after stopping Antonio Pitalua in under six minutes. After two defences, Valero reached his 27th fight and left behind a small body of work that will now forever have major questions mark over it. We will always wonder how far his talent really would have taken him. Especially against the elite names at the time.
Although he boxed for quite a brief time, Valero demonstrated good counter punching abilities , a heavy right hook and extraordinary patience to land his big bombs. Against Antonio DeMarco, Valero was cut in the first round under his right eye, a wound that eventually began streaming blood. But this did not seem to affect the southpaw. He kept his composure and wore his opponent down to make him retire after he went back to his corner when the 9th round ended.
Given his transient time as a boxer, predicting what Edwin Valero could have gone on to achieve had things turned out differently is a rather hard question to answer. DeMarco exposed some flaws in Valero’s ability and skill set. In 2010, the likes of Michael Katsidis, Brandon Rios, Jorge Linares and Roman Martinez were in the Ring Magazine’s top 10 rankings.
Can you imagine Valero facing Katsidis and Rios?
Those two fights would have surely been barn burners!
Rios admitted that he loves to get hit and was passionate for tear ups. And Australian Michael Katsidis, who also was once the WBO lightweight champion, had dynamite in both fists.
If Valero could have gotten past those two names then I believe that would have given us some answers as far as how strong Edwin’s punch resistance was and also his determination when being taken into the trenches, as Rios surely would have done so.
I can envision Valero getting past Katsidis and Rios. But in regards to Manny Pacquiao, let us not forget that the Filipino was then campaigning in the welterweight division at that point. Maybe a catchweight somewhere between 140lb and 147lb could have been negotiated. If the weight did not physically become an issue for either man, I think Manny’s experience and blistering hand and foot speed would have told the story in a fight like that.
And what about Floyd Mayweather?
He had returned to the ring after a two year lay off in 2009 and was triumphant over Shane Mosley in 2010. But his pattern of opponent selection often suggested that Floyd liked to fight opponents who were Pay Per View draws. And Valero was yet to be one around that time. It would have taken at least a couple of years for Valero to have built his name in the US and convince the American public to fork out an extra fee in addition to their normal cable television subscription to watch him.
So, I cannot see a fight between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Edwin Valero taking place until at least 2012. But Floyd was clearly beating the best names around that time even though it looked as if his mobility had slowed down a tad. Styles make fights. And I think Floyd’s exceptional ring IQ, his ability to adapt mid-fight, straight right hand and countering abilities would have seen him win a clear unanimous decision. Of course, there is the factor of Edwin possibly improving his own skill set by then. But boxers generally do not completely alter their entire fighting approach. They make adjustments and a tweak here and there.
But that is normally as far as it goes.
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