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IT appears that Manny Pacquiao will make the first defense of his
newly minted World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight title against
Venezuelan Edwin “Dinamita” Valero on November 8.
The big names in the 135-pound division are all
fully booked. American Nate Campbell, the World Boxing Association (WBA)
and International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight champ, is
headed for a September 13 clash with Joan Guzman. On the same month,
former two-time world lightweight champ Joel Casamayor will square
off with Juan Manuel Marquez, the former WBC jr. lightweight champ
who is moving up in weight in pursuit of a third showdown with
Pacquiao.
Ricky “Hitman” Hatton, the only marketable
opponent for Pacquiao in the heavier jr. welterweight class (140
lbs), is leaning on rubbing mitts with IBF jr. welter titlist Paulie
Malignaggi later this year. Hatton holds the fringe International
Boxing Organization (IBO) jr. welter crown and it would serve
Pacquiao better if he waits for Hatton to snare the legitimate IBF
belt before issuing a formal challenge to the hard-hitting Briton.
Hatton is the favorite to prevail against the pillow-fisted
Malignaggi.
With no one to mess with, Pacquiao has been left
to settle for Valero. It’s not a bad choice. Valero, the reigning
WBA jr. lightweight champ (130 lbs.), totes an unbeaten record of
24-0, with all the victories coming by way of knockout—19 in the
first round. Valero holds the world record for the most number of
first round knockouts to start a career. He turned pro in 2002 and
demolished his first 18 opponents in the opening round—breaking
the previous record of 15 set by Young Otto in 1905. The first-round
knockout streak ended in March 2006, when Valero needed two rounds
to annihilate Genaro Trazancos.
The rap on Valero is that almost all of his
victims have been patsies. Analyze the names of all the fighters he
had fought and three names always crop up—Larry, Curly and Moe.
Yup, all stooges. In his only genuine test to date, Valero kissed
the canvas in the third round before stopping the previously
unbeaten Vicente Mosquera in 10 rounds for the WBA jr. lightweight
diadem in August 2006.
In 2003, Valero signed a promotional deal with
Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The deal fell through
when Valero failed a pre-fight physical in New York. The result of
the MRI allegedly revealed a trauma in Valero’s head, the result
of a motorcycle accident in 2001 in his native Venezuela. Valero
admitted to crashing his motorcycle against the back windshield of a
car. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the fender-bender.
Valero was eventually banned from fighting in
the US. Valero’s camp claims the real reason the fighter can’t
step in a US ring is his Venezuelan nationality. The president of
Venezuela, Hugo Chaves, is a very vocal critic of US head honcho
George Bush.
Valero has since been fighting almost
exclusively in Japan. As news of his immense punching power began to
spread, Valero became a marketable boxer in the eyes of boxing
promoters. Early this year, it was reported that Valero had been
given the go-signal to fight in Texas.
This early, Pacquiao is the top pick to prevail.
Then again, Valero will make for a very intriguing adversary. What
if “Dinamita” can really punch? Can he take out Pacman in one
round?
Fight fans always love to watch punchers in
action and Valero and Pacquiao pack enough power to light up a
far-flung barrio.
Valero will be moving up in weight to challenge
Pacquiao. The Venezuelan thus also has weight issues to deal with.
Valero already moves like a turtle as a 130-pounder and many believe
he might get even slower by adding five more pounds. The heaviest
Valero had weight is 133-and-a-half pounds (against Aram Ramazyan in
2005 and Trazancos in 2006).
Valero will definitely be facing his toughest
test in Pacquiao. Pacquiao had dismissed Valero’s victims as
nothing but a bunch of “tricycle drivers.” For his own safety,
Valero should be in tip-top shape when he meets boxing’s “king
of the road.”
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For comments, the writer can be reached at atty_eduardo@
yahoo.com
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