By Robert Morales, LA Daily News
Boxing has more than its share of feel-good stories. Look at Manny Pacquiao. He was dirt poor as a kid growing up in the Philippines.
Today, he is the most recognized boxer in the world as well as its pound-for-pound best fighter. He's also very rich because of his success.
Edwin Valero, the hard-hitting lightweight world champion from Venezuela, has his own tale that began somewhat similarly.
"I grew up until age 7 with both parents, but by the age of 7 my father had abandoned us," said Valero, who tonight will defend his title against Tijuana's Antonio DeMarco in Monterrey, Mexico (on Showtime). "Then at the age of 8 I had to begin working with my mother. We would sell fruit.
"It was a means for us to get money because we didn't have any money to eat on. I worked with my mom and then my uncle; we did the same thing."
Valero stopped selling fruit on the streets when he was 12, the age at which he took up boxing. Besides training, he got paid for cleaning the gym. But before Valero could turn pro, he got into a serious accident while he was riding his motorcycle in Venezuela on Feb. 5, 2001.
"I was on my way to the gym about 2 in the afternoon; it was a regular day," Valero said. "A car didn't stop. He went through a stop sign and he hit me."
Valero, 20 at the time, was not wearing a helmet.
"I didn't lose my memory or anything, but what I remember the most was there was a lot of blood," he said. "I got a cut on my head and the skin ripped open and it hit one of my veins, so they had to take me to the hospital."
Valero had surgery to remove a blood clot, and he said a doctor told him to stay out of the gym for three months. Valero said he didn't feel comfortable going back so soon and that he stayed away from boxing for closer to a year and a half, after which time he turned pro in July 2002.
All the southpaw has done is go 26-0 with 26 knockouts, winning world titles in the super featherweight and lightweight divisions. He knocked out his first 18 opponents in the first round, a record at the time that has since been broken.
"It doesn't amaze me and I'm not shocked at my record," Valero said. "I have worked very hard for these victories."
Interestingly, Valero said the one fight he really wants is with Pacquiao.
"All the fans want to see that," he said. "They know it will be explosive, they know there will be a lot of blood and it will be an all-out battle."
The thing is Pacquiao is now at welterweight. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said Valero would have to come up to that weight in order to fight Pacquiao. But Roach does like the idea of the fight, and he is impressed with Valero.
"I've always liked that fight," Roach said Tuesday. "Valero, a lot of people don't give him credit because looks like a raw guy out there, like he has no rhyme or reason.
"But he sets things up. He's a lot smarter than people think."
Valero's story is a good one so far, but it hasn't been without further road blocks.
After passing every medical test - including three for fights in California - an MRI taken in New York in 2004 showed brain irregularities - perhaps because of his accident.
He we was denied a license for a fight he was to have there.
It was only last April that he was able to again fight in the U.S., this time when Texas cleared him for his lightweight title fight with Antonio Pitalua. But Valero also got arrested for drunk driving in Texas, and he has not been able to get a visa to re-enter the States.
Valero, 28, said he is confident he will get his visa back within three months. He said he's also certain that since he has passed every other medical test he has taken since his accident other than the one in New York, he will soon be able to fight in Las Vegas - the fight capital of the world.
First things first. DeMarco is no slouch, and Valero needs to win tonight if he is going to improve upon what has already been a story of which legends are made. As great as Pacquiao has been, Valero might put even more fear into opponents than the Filipino icon.
"I wouldn't say they are scared or intimidated, but they are cautious because there is a lot of power," Valero said. "They are definitely aware."
DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs) is cognizant of what Valero brings to the table. But he doesn't speak like he's in awe of him.
"I know Valero is a tough fighter and that he has taken on quality opponents," said DeMarco, 24. "I give him much respect. There is a reason why he is the champion and he deserves all the accolades he has received.
"That said, Valero is no different than the opponents that I have faced. They were tough, too, and so we will see how this fight turns out and who wins. I'm certain it will be me."
Pacquiao remains hopeful of fighting Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao was about to begin a training session Tuesday at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. He's preparing for his March 13 welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium.
As he sat in his dressing room, Pacquiao talked about the failed attempt to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the ring on that same date.
The fight fell apart when Pacquiao would not agree to the Olympic-style drug-testing demanded by Mayweather for both fighters.
Pacquiao has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Yet the Mayweathers - including Floyd Sr. and his brother, Roger - strongly sugggested Pacquiao could be on something. Pacquiao has filed a defamation suit against the Mayweathers and Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions.
"I'm not angry at Floyd Mayweather," Pacquiao said. "I just felt bad that he doesn't want to fight. He is not ready for the fight. He's making a lot of allegations and alibis, allegations that can ruin my name."
Pacquiao said that if Mayweather is the fighter he says he is, he should just take the fight.
"If you are a true champion, no alibis and just fight," said Pacquiao, who this week was named Fighter of the Year and Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Pacquiao said he remains hopeful a fight with Mayweather will occurr. He said he will take a blood test no later than 30 days before the fight and right after. He would also agree to random urinalysis. Olympic-style testing consists of random blood-testing and urinalysis.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would have overseen Pacquiao-Mayweather, takes only urinalysis just before and just after a fight. No pro boxer has ever had to submit to Olympic-style testing. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, doesn't see why Pacquiao should be the first.
"No, because that's like giving the first two rounds away, giving (Mayweather) momentum," Roach said. "I wouldn't let Manny do that. No way. The thing is commissions run these rules, not him (Mayweather).
"If we had history of steroid abuse and he had some scientific evidence, mood swings and stuff like that, I can see him going to the commission and doing it correctly and bringing it to the commission's attention and let them deal with it."
Source:
dailynews.com
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