The Edwin Valero riddle – answered?

Edwin Valero raises his hands high after defeating Antonio Pitalua Saturday. No one was really sure whether he raised his hands because of the win or if he'd just been told that one of his fights was actually broadcast on American TV for the first time since 2003.

Some boxers, like Oscar De La Hoya, seem to have rock-star status bestowed upon them from the first time they lace up the gloves professionally. Others, such as Bernard Hopkins, start in obscurity, then through hard work and increasingly important wins, eventually end up in boxing’s penthouse. A select few, however, would fall under the category of unknown underground sensation.

Lightweight Edwin Valero falls into just such a category. Headlining the “Lightweight Lightening” PPV card last Saturday, Valero, who hadn’t been seen on U.S. TV since 2003 as a prospect, ripped apart tough Columbian Antonio Pitalua in less than two rounds. Not only is Valero 25-0, but all of his wins have come by KO; only Vincente Mosquera, Nobuhito Honda and Takehiro Shimada have made it past round two against him. As a matter of fact, Valero reeled off 17 straight first round knockouts to start his career, a feat not seen in the last hundred years. Valero, then, ought to be must-see TV, right?

So why the six years in between major TV appearances? Well, it seems Valero got KO’d by a motorcycle back in 2001, when he wiped out, broke his skull, and then had to have a blood clot removed surgically. While a Venezuelan doctor cleared him to fight (he turned pro the next year), a failed MRI in 2004 in New York caused him to be denied a license to fight. As in the case with heavyweight Joe Mesi, it can be difficult to find another place to fight in North America, as almost all commissions there will honor the New York Commission’s findings.

Due to that circumstance, the Edwin Valero show went on the road, fighting in Panama, Argentina, France and his home away from home, Japan. He fought five fights there, becoming something of a cult hero to Japanese fight fans (turns out the Japanese like their devastating knockouts, too!). From there, and especially due to the KO streak, Valero would be come an Internet sensation. There was some less-than-great footage of his fistic work spread here and there, but since he was beating fighters in Japan that most North Americans had never seen fight before, either, it was hard to gauge exactly how good the Venezuelan was. But by this point, the buzz was in full gear, and the boxing community seemed ready to anoint Valero as the “Next Big Thing”. He was licensed by Texas for the PPV, and now many fans could see what the fuss was all about.

The reason for this buzz has likely to do with the ascension of a fighter who just recently fought at Valero’s weight, that being one Manny Pacquiao. As big as “Pac Man” is at the moment, he was once a jr. featherweight curiosity. The Filipino was known for winning a flyweight title at 112 pounds (knocking out Chatchai Sasukul impressively), then jumping up a full ten pounds in three months between fights with Medgoen 3K-Battery and Reynante Jamili back in ’99, after losing the title via KO to the former. Another win against Nedal Hussein ten months later started to make people talk. When everyone finally saw Pacquiao overwhelm skilled South African Lehlo Ledwaba on a PPV undercard in 2001, it looked like there could be a star on the rise.

But that’s really where we’re at with Valero. In Pacquiao’s case, it took two more years before his KO of Marco Antonio Barrera put him on the map to stay, even with a loss to Erik Morales in 2005. There is seemingly a rush to judgment on Valero, who is at the same point in his career that Pacquiao was after the Ledwaba fight. I don’t know why this is; I suppose it makes good talk and print fodder to guess how great Valero already is. Anyone who looked at the Pitalua fight objectively can see that while Valero obviously has TNT in his fists, his defense doesn’t look great, and he sticks his chin out too much. He will have to fight the Joel Casamayor’s & Ali Funeka’s of the world before we have some idea if he belongs in with the top five of the lightweight division.

The Pitalua win was a good start, and while his demolishing of opponents is fun to watch, all we can say right now is that he’s a star on the rise. Future fights against better opposition will tell us more. Remember middleweight Olympian David Reid? A few good wins early in your career will not guarantee greatness. Only time will solve the riddle as to whether Valero will ascend to that vaunted boxing elite status.