Edwin Valero

Edwin Valero
Valero in 2009
Statistics
Nickname(s)	El Inca El Dinamita ("The Dynamite") El Terminator The Liquidator[1]
Rated at	Lightweight Super featherweight
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Nationality	Venezuelan
Born	December 3, 1981 Bolero Alto, Mérida, Venezuela
Died	April 19, 2010 (aged 28) Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	27
Wins	27
Wins by KO	27
Losses	0

Edwin Valero (December 3, 1981 – April 19, 2010) was a Venezuelan professional boxer. He was an undefeated two-weight world champion who held the WBA super featherweight and WBC lightweight titles. A southpaw known for his highly aggressive style and exceptional punching power, Valero remains the only champion in the 30-year history of the WBC to have won every fight in his career by knockout. In 2010, Valero committed suicide in jail after being arrested on suspicion of killing his wife.

Amateur career

Valero started boxing at the age of 12, ostensibly compiling an amateur record of 86–6 with 57 knockouts. He was a Venezuelan national amateur champion three years running, as well as a Central and South American champion (beating Francisco Bojado).

Professional career

On February 25, 2006, Valero set a new world record by winning his first 18 fights as a professional by first-round knockout, breaking Arthur Susskind's historic record set in 1905. That record has since been broken by Tyrone Brunson, but most boxing experts do not acknowledge Brunson's claim due to the extremely poor level of opposition he faced while making his way to the record; in contrast to Valero's opponents, just one of Brunson's 19 opponents had a winning record, and 6 had failed to win a single fight in their careers.^[2]

Because of his punching power and perfect knockout ratio, Valero became a cult sensation in the community. His biggest backers in the sport included Doug Fischer of The Ring magazine (who, on the former boxing website he used to write for, Maxboxing.com, regularly covered Valero in his articles for the website which also aired videos of his workouts and sparring sessions) and Boxing Inside with journalist Peter Palmiere. The Los Angeles local cable show also aired Valero's workouts, sparring sessions and interviews conducted by Palmiere.

In his first attempt at a world title, on August 5, 2006, Valero faced WBA super featherweight champion Vicente Mosquera. In what would arguably prove to be both boxers' toughest contest, Valero started out the match in signature fashion, knocking down the champion twice in the first round. However, Mosquera recovered and in the third round responded by knocking Valero down, which was to be Valero's only knockdown in his career.^[3] At this point in his 19–0 career, Valero's longest fight had only been two rounds,^[4] and the question remained as to whether the untested Valero had the stamina to go the distance. The answer came after ten grueling rounds when the ever-tenacious Mosquera finally started to wane under the challenger's continuous heavy-handed counters. Deciding Mosquera had received enough punishment, the referee called a halt to the match at 2:00 of round ten, making the 24-year-old Valero champion. Valero would go on to successfully defend the title four times before moving up in weight class, with his final defense a seventh-round stoppage over Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo on June 12, 2008.

On September 3, 2008, Valero vacated his WBA title to fight in the lightweight division.^[5] He fought Antonio Pitalua for the vacant WBC lightweight title on April 4, 2009 in Austin, Texas. The bout marked the first time Valero had fought in the United States since 2003. Pitalua came in to the fight with 14 consecutive knockouts on his 46–3 record, and with Valero's 24 consecutive knockouts, the stage was set for a decisive match between two heavy hitters. After an uneventful first round, Valero knocked Pitalua down just seconds into the second round with a right hook. Pitalua managed to get up, but suffered two more knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight at 0:49 of round two.^[6][7]

Valero's next fight came on his home turf of Venezuela, in La Guaira, where he successfully defended his WBC lightweight title by a TKO victory over Hector Velasquez in the seventh round. Valero's second and final defense of the belt came against Antonio DeMarco in Mexico, on February 6, 2010. In the second round, Valero suffered a serious cut over his right eye after DeMarco landed an unintentional elbow.^[8] Valero was able to continue the fight and went on to win by corner retirement when DeMarco failed to answer the bell for the tenth round. This would be Valero's last match. In March 2010, Valero vacated his WBC title in order to compete in the light welterweight division.^[9] Valero's professional record at the time of his death was 27–0, making him one of the few world champions to finish their careers undefeated.

Career roadblocks

On February 5, 2001, Valero was involved in a severe motorcycle accident in which he wasn't wearing a helmet. He fractured his skull and had surgery to remove a blood clot. This injury was sustained prior to him launching his pro career, and it created roadblocks to major bodies sanctioning his fights. Valero claimed that his doctor cleared him to fight on January 17, 2002, and he turned pro that July with a first-round KO.

Valero appeared to hit the jackpot when he was signed after his 12th pro fight by Golden Boy Promotions. Valero was scheduled to appear on HBO's Boxing After Dark, but in January 2004, he failed an MRI due to brain scan irregularities in New York and thus was not allowed to fight in the United States. As a result, the fight did not take place. He continued to fight outside the US and on March 25, 2008, Valero was cleared to box in the state of Texas.^[10]

Allegations of assault

It was reported on September 27, 2009, that Edwin Valero had been arrested on assault charges. A man alleged that the boxer attacked his mother and sister over a feud.^[11] Valero denied the allegations and considered them an attempt to harm his reputation. His mother came forward to tell the media that no foul play was involved.

On March 25, 2010, Valero was again accused of assault, this time by his wife, who was sent to hospital for bruises and a damaged lung.^[12] Valero denied any wrongdoing, stating his wife stumbled from a stairway but investigators doubted him.^[13] His wife later told authorities that her injuries were caused by an accident on some stairs, despite the fact that she had been treated for similar injuries twice before at the hospital.^[14] Because of the vicious personality he showed at the hospital where his wife was treated, Valero was sent for six months of psychiatric rehabilitation.^[15]

Murder charges and suicide

On April 18, 2010, Valero was arrested after police found the body of his 24-year-old wife, Carolina, in a hotel in the city of Valencia, Carabobo.^[16][17] Valero was considered a suspect and was taken to jail.^[18] Valero allegedly admitted to hotel security and police that he had murdered his wife.^[19] The following day he was found hanging in his prison cell, by his pants. He was pronounced legally dead, at 1:30 AM.^[20]

Professional boxing record

Professional championships

References

1. "Edwin Valero Gives Another Knockout Performance and Calls Out Manny Pacquiao boto". Ringsidereport.com. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
2. History Made. Sort of…
3. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1098156
4. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1056427
5. "Valero gives up WBA title!". Fightnews.com. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
6. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1386657
7. Rosenthal, Michael (2009-04-04). "Valero makes strong statement with KO". The Ring. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
8. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1480627
9. http://www.edwinvalero.net/edwin-valero-vacates-belt-returns-to-training/
10. Dan Rafael (March 25, 2008). "Banned in U.S. since '04, Valero granted license in Texas". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
11. Associated Press (September 27, 2009). "Report: Valero arrested on domestic violence charges". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
12. Mark Vester (March 25, 2010). "Edwin Valero Arrested on Alleged Assault Charges". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
13. Jhonny Gonzalez (March 26, 2010). "Edwin Valero: More Details Surface on Arrest, Allegations". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
14. Jhonny Gonzalez (March 28, 2010). "Edwin Valero in The Clear; Assault Charges are Dropped". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
15. "Valero sent to rehab". Fightnews.com. March 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
16. McDonell, Terry, ed. (April 26, 2010). "For the Record: Died". Sports Illustrated (Time) 112 (18): 18.
17. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AiS6.BuI6yKsZyUovqtnCYZxYQM6?slug=capress-box_valero_slaying-163054724
18. Maria Montiel (April 18, 2010). "CICPC: "Inca" Valero confesó haber asesinado a su esposa". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
19. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5109456
20. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5112471
21. http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=122183&cat=boxer

External links

• Edwin Valero - Daily Telegraph obituary
• Article "Edwin Valero was Murdered"
• Edwin Valero Open Workout Photo Gallery