Urbano Antillon, Jesus Soto Karass, Erik Morales and Daniel Jiminez were other names who Valero supposedly boxed all over the ring. He became something of an urban myth, his sparring sessions spoke of in almost hushed tones.ĭoug Fischer claimed to be “immediately awed” even watching him train and described “a gym terror, knocking out legitimate contenders and undefeated top-level prospects.” Juan Lazcano, prior to beating Stevie Johnson in a WBC eliminator could not handle the power and chose to go and spar with Nate Campbell. He had begun training at Joe Hernandez’s gym in Vernon, California in the spring of 2003 with his reputation beginning to grow amongst boxing insiders. Doug Fischer, of the Ring, described him as a “hot prospect who knocked out journeymen.” His twelfth fight was his first under the Golden Boy promotional banner. His amateur record was 86-6 with 57 knockouts before turning professional in 2002.īy the end of 2003 he had won twelve fights, all by first round stoppage. His most impressive win came at the Central American and Caribbean Games beating Mexican Olympian Francisco Bojado, ESPN’s 2001 prospect of the year, in the finals. He only narrowly missed out on going to the 2000 Sydney Olympics when losing to future IBF Featherweight champion Valdemir Pereira by five points at the Americas trials final in Argentina. He was a star amateur, winning three national championships. His work ethic was always talked about and it begun as a youth when he would train daily with Ortega. It was clear very quickly, that Valero was a star prodigy. It would be his home for the next eight years. Rather than not be able to pay for travel, Valero looked to move into the boxing gym under the supervision of Oscar Ortega. When Valero got a job at a bicycle shop, the owner was a former boxer. Only a few months, he had to give it up due to a lack of funds. His first combat sport experience came in a taekwondo class at the age of 13. The family struggled, “barely having enough to eat.” It was at twelve that he was left homeless, living on some of the roughest streets on the planet. Valero described his childhood as “not a normal one.” He dropped out of school very young, at 9 he spent most days helping his mum, a dishwasher, earn extra money by picking and selling fruit at a bus station in El Vigia. The parents had separated by the time he turned seven. His childhood home saw two bedrooms shared between Edwin, his two parents and four siblings. When it was apparent that the violent bloodlust did not leave Valero even outside of the ring, it led to a catastrophic ending.Įdwin Valero was born in Bolera Alto, Venezuela on December 3, 1981. When his aggressive, power punching propelled Valero up the ranks, his violent bloodlust was lauded. Some eyes have a sparkle that draws you into the person. Because of my age many people think I am done as a fighter but I still feel young and the knockout has given me extra motivation to win a world title.It’s the eyes. Pitalua who lost in his lightweight title bid to the hard-hitting KO artist Valero said his knockout victory over Reyes “proved to me that I still matter. It reminds me of the many accomplishments in my career” even as he indicated that the “urge to capture a world title keeps me going.” In a pre-fight press conference Pitalua who proudly displays his 11 regional belts in his Mexican home told boxing writer Santos Perez of the Miami Herald that he was “proud of all the belts. Pitalua was originally scheduled to face former world super lightweight champion Diobelys Hurtado but Hurtado sustained a hip injury while doing roadwork in preparation for the fight and had to pull out, with Negron stepping in as replacement. With the win Pitalua moves to 48-4 with 42 knockouts while Negron drops to 26-13-1 with 19 knockouts. Against the 35 year old Negron of Puerto Rico, Pitalua was in command from the opening bell and forced referee Frank Santos Jr to call a halt at 2:09 of the fifth round.
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