VALERO DEFENDS TITLE AGAINST FORMER PACQUIAO OPPONENT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 17 Dec 2009
Undefeated southpaw Edwin Valero makes the first defense of his WBC lightweight title against a former opponent of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao before his hometown fans in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Valero who is looking for his 26th straight KO victory takes on Mexican Hector Velazquez who lost by a 6th round TKO in a Pacquiao tune-up fight on September 10, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 34 year old journeyman Velazquez is six years older than the hard-hitting Valero and has a record of 51-13-2 with 35 knockouts. A game fighter, Velazquez may however prove no match for the power-punching Valero.
The exciting Venezuelan fighter got into trouble with police in Las Vegas after Pacquiao’s annihilation of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton last May 2 at the MGM Grand and was ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol.
When he applied for a visa, hoping to land a fight in the US, it was denied.
However, Fight Hype quoted Top Rank promoter Bob Arum as saying he had spoken to Valero’s manager Jose Castllo who informed him that Valero had completed his course of rehabilitation in Venezuela for the problem of driving-under-the-influence of alcohol.
His manager was planning to submit all the necessary documents in re-applying for a US visa.
Valero who attended Manny Pacquiao’s 30th birthday in his hometown of General Santos City last year along with former WBC lightweight champion David Diaz won the WBA super featherweight title with a first round knockout of Whyber Garcia in February 2006 and successfully defended the title five times before moving up to lightweight where he scored a 2nd round TKO over Antonio Pitalua to win the vacant WBC title on April 4, 2009.
Arum had earlier told us he was hoping to get Valero a chance to fight in the US including a slot on the planned Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr superfight on April 13 which would be easier should the fight be held in the Dallas Cowboys stadium since Texas had cleared Valero to fight despite the fact that he had been denied a clearance by the New York State Athletic Commission because of a brain injury suffered in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
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