Pacquiao’s possible foe is 20-0, with 20 KOs

By Al S. Mendoza

THERE is this Venezuelan they want Manny Pacquiao to fight.

Edwin Valero is his name.

Based on his fight record, Valero is tough.

As an amateur, he won 87 fights and lost only 5. He knocked out 57 of them.

Venezuela‘s boxing laws seem weird because Valero was listed as starting his amateur career at the age of 12. 

Maybe at 12, Valero was just starting to toy with the boxing gloves?  But in the process, he kept knocking out opponents?

He turned pro at age 18 but not after suffering a motorcycle crash that injured his skull.

Valero had surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.

The major operation goaded boxing officials in the US to ban Valero from fighting in America.  They declared him unfit to turn professional because of the brain surgery.

Ignoring America’s ban, Valero went on to pursue a boxing career.  He fought outside America. Mostly now, he fights in Japan. A Japanese named Kenji Honda, whom I met in Tokyo in 2002, manages Valero now.

By any yardstick of excellence, Valero’s record is sensational.

In 20 fights, he is 20-0.  No draw. No defeat.  All victories.

In 20 fights, he knocked them all out.

In 20 fights, he knocked out his first 18 foes in the first round.  One was kayoed in the second round, another in the 10th round.

Like Pacquiao, Valero is also a southpaw.

Like Pacquiao, Valero is a double-barreled attacker, employing both his fists when going for the kill.

Like Pacquiao, Valero is very comfortable in the 130-pound division.

I’ve seen one of his fights, the one against Pedro Tranzano. I can tell that Valero idolizes Pacquiao because his style has a striking resemblance to that of Pacman’s.

Tranzano, tall and rangy, lasted only two rounds.  He got decked twice in the second round, the second fall forcing the referee to declare him loser by knockout.

Valero is a slam-bang fighter like Pacquiao that if and when they finally meet, the fight will not last three rounds.  Because each of them fights like a tiger, it can even end right in the first round.

But will the duel materialize?

It will, if it’s held outside America – say, in Japan, or even in the Philippines.

But if you were Pacquiao, will you fight Valero?

If you ask me, yes and no.

No, I will not fight Valero. Not now. Too dangerous.  I’d rather pick the less dangerous  fighters first than meet a guy who is unbeaten.  I wouldn’t risk all that I’ve achieved the last five years or so.  I’d be a fool if I did that. 

But then for the right price, yes.

And what is the right price?

Well, for no less than $10 million, I will fight Valero. Plus shares in the Pay-Per-View earnings.

Already, Honda is trying to lure Pacquiao to fight Valero.

Maybe the fight might yet materialize if we go by Honda’s flamboyant ways.  Look, for every first-round knockout that Valero scores, the Venezuelan gets a bonus of $100,000 from Honda.  With his 18 first-round KOs thus far, Valero has now earned $1.8 million.

Ain’t that cool?

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/general-admission/)

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