Edwin Valero - Could he be the best.

[WildWaylon]

My son in law raves about this guy and says he will clean up the division. Great record 23 fights, 23 wins, 23 by KO and WBA champion. He has been down but obviously got up, as he is still unbeaten, and went on to win. Can he beat the man ranked at number one, Manny Pacquiao? What do you think.

[TerribleTerry]

Dougie Fisher over at Maxbox was cumin in his pants over Valero years ago and with good reason given his performances sparring with the likes of Morales, Urbano Antillon and the Santa Cruz brothers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lSag1bYcUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6gIbjiy48c

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/se ... arri_sport

He isnt (wasnt) a raw slugger with crippling power but a well rounded southpaw box-fighter with crippling power: that was why everyone was so enamoured with him early in his career and I think he has proved since he moved into world class that the gym reports were well deserved; he is a stylish killer when he boxes to his full ability.

I think he has regressed in style over time as he has fallen in love with his power and hype somewhat. That is not to say that he couldnt rediscover the boxing skills he made his name with - I believe he has just shelved them in favour of a crash, bang, wallop attacking style.

That said, he is still a hell of a fighter!

[Max Molyneux]

He's only licensed outside of Japan to fight In Texas and could be an accident waiting to happen If he has a brain abnormality.

He's looked good knocking out Taxi driver level fighters though.

[whatashambles]

Unfortunately because he hasn't been eligible to box in the US until recently we're yet to see how good he really is. He's got a fight next week, but not against a particularly good opponent. Hopefully Arum could match him with Manny Pacquiao, that would be one hell of a fight.

[TerribleTerry]

He's only licensed outside of Japan to fight In Texas and could be an accident waiting to happen If he has a brain abnormality.

He's looked good knocking out Taxi driver level fighters though.

The brain injury came from riding a motorbike, not boxing, and has been shown by various doctors to be none threatening (although I am no medical man) - is it any worse then Barrera fighting with a metal plate in his head? Its hard to say without knowing the full extent of the injuries and understanding the functions/fragility of the brain.

As for taxi drivers, all the following were decent, if not scintilatting, performers:

Esteban de Jesus Morales
Whyber Garcia
Vicente Mosquera (defending world champ at the time they fought)
Michael Lozada
Zaid Zavaleta

[Rocky Balboa]

Valero might not be the best of the bunch at 130lbs, but because of styles, he may well end up defeating the other major fighters at SFW i.e. Pacquaio, Guzman, Marquez, etc.

In my view, Valero's boxing skills have improved over the last 12-18months. Before he became a title-holder, Valero was perhaps looked upon as just a slugger, a guy that relies scoring a KO blow otherwise he has got problems! I don't think that's the case now.

For me, Edwin could even be the hardest hitter, P4P, in boxing right now. I'd love to see fight Pacqaio, Guzman, etc, etc.

[WildWaylon]

Valero might not be the best of the bunch at 130lbs, but because of styles, he may well end up defeating the other major fighters at SFW i.e. Pacquaio, Guzman, Marquez, etc.

In my view, Valero's boxing skills have improved over the last 12-18months. Before he became a title-holder, Valero was perhaps looked upon as just a slugger, a guy that relies scoring a KO blow otherwise he has got problems! I don't think that's the case now.

For me, Edwin could even be the hardest hitter, P4P, in boxing right now. I'd love to see fight Pacqaio, Guzman, etc, etc.

Mouth watering fights, they have to happen soon. Dont see AAA being too keen to do battle, do you.

[Autobarn]

If Valero does stay in Japan, he won't ever unify. He also can only choose from 2 titles, in Japan. Because that country doesn't recognise IBF and WBO belts (unlike us, who were very welcoming...most of our '80s champs are IBF and '90s WBO!).

He did have that fight in Mexico and like Max says, he's able to fight on one state in America.

He proved his worth vs Mosquera. But like early Haye, because of his power, he isn't getting anywhere near enough rounds. Valero vs Soto would be perhaps the 130-pound equivalent to Corrales-Castillo and Marquez-Vazquez. Soto is close to a WBC title, has some skill/poise to go with his own power, and is more suited to fighting a raw puncher like Valero than a tricky, defensive boxer ala Guzman.

If Soto fights regularly in Mexico and Valero has fought in Mexico and can fight just on the other side of the border, why not? (Provided Soto is moved toward the vacant WBC belt)