Nine rounds had gone by in Monterrey, Mexico and Antonio DeMarco’s trainer had seen more than enough. Withdrawing his man from the bout, saving the challenger from further punishment, DeMarco’s name was added to a growing roster of victims felled by Edwin Valero.
Making the second defence of his WBC 135-pound title, Valero inscribed victory number 27 to his burgeoning record. All 27 had failed to hear the final bell. The 28-year-old Venezuelan was no ordinary champion. Having boxed only 66 rounds in eight years as a pro, his 100 per cent KO ratio was only part of this man’s incredible story.
When DeMarco was finally pulled out on that evening in early February 2010, Valero’s career at the top level was truly ready to launch. At the time, fans and pundits did not know that they would never see this wildly unpredictable two-weight champion in the ring again.
Just two months after Valero had battered DeMarco, he was involved in a manic 48 hours that stunned the boxing world. Jennifer Carolina Viera de Valero, the 24-year-old wife of Edwin and mother of his two young children, was brutally stabbed to death in a hotel in the Venezuelan city of Valencia.
Hours after the incident had taken place, Valero walked down to the hotel reception to confess to stunned members of staff that he had killed his wife.
Police were called and he was arrested and taken into custody. Struggling with mental demons and substance abuse problems, Valero had been detained for previously mistreating his wife just weeks before the fatal assault. Twenty-four hours after his confession, the lightweight belt holder would also be dead.
Valero always led a troubled existence, in and out of the ring. Stories of feuds, bizarre anonymous shootings and increasing paranoia followed the heavy-handed southpaw throughout his final years as he descended into a crazed world of drug and alcohol dependency.
Even his first attempt to turn professional in 2001 was put on hold. Despite closing in on 100 amateur contests, Valero looked to cross codes with a Venezuelan promoter before a motorcycle accident put his best-laid plans on hold for a year.
He later explained to American media that his motorbike had hit another vehicle at high speed and Valero, wearing no helmet, was left with a fractured skull. After finally convincing doctors that he was capable of embarking on a career as a prizefighter, Edwin wasted little time adapting to his new profession by smashing away 18 consecutive opponents in the first round.
Midway through the streak, Valero had piqued the interest of Golden Boy Promotions, owned by former multi-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya. This link-up earned Valero some valuable time in the States, and prominent journalists like Doug Fischer began to take an interest in his story.
Valero’s intense sparring sessions, often with well-known names of the time, started emerging from the gyms and are now the stuff of legend.
But as quickly as Valero’s career progressed, problems were always lurking around the corner. In the middle of his knockout run, with a prime slot on HBO secured on a New York show, the South American failed a pre-fight medical based on the injuries he had sustained in his motorcycle accident.
A doctor from the stringent New York State Athletic Commission suggested that he should never fight again given the underlying extent of the damage.
Despite these dire medical predictions, such is the “Wild West” nature of boxing that Edwin managed to find locations willing to sanction him. Argentina, Japan, Panama, France and Mexico all kept him in business.
The one problem that persisted worldwide was that his handlers were finding it hard to recruit opponents capable of lasting any considerable distance.
One opponent who lasted longer than most was WBA super-featherweight king Vicente Mosquera who dropped Valero before being eventually stopped in the 10th round in his home city. Most importantly, globetrotting Valero had finally become a world champion.
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