Terrible person, but a terrifying fighter. The big stumper was him ending all 18 fights in the 1st. And then displaying stamina and lay round KO power. damn shame he was a psychopath but so was Monzon
Exciting puncher but overrated af. Valero had too many flaws to beat truly elite fighters like Pac or JMM. He looked monstrous against lower tier opponents, but he was more of a monster outside the ring. Such a tragedy that he killed his own wife and left his child as an orphan.
He lucked out getting locked up and dying when he did. He got to die undefeated with his myth intact. People forget that he was scheduled to fight Bradley at the time he went psycho. Timmy would have exposed him. Don't get me wrong, Valero wasn't without ability. But I don't think he was anything special. He was good enough to beat a Juan Diaz level fighter, but not a Bradley level fighter. You take Casamayor, Corrales, and Castillo in their primes, I think all 3 of those guys would have fucked up Valero.
Valero groupies want you to believe that this guy, who got touched up and bloodied by Antonio Demarco, would have been a threat to Pac in 09?? GTFOH.
Nah it's worse. Ike's wins over Tua and Byrd - taking the 0's of men with hugely diverse styles- suggested real talent and a range of skill and intangibles. The fact that Byrd Vs Tua was itself a title- fight years later would tend to confirm that Ike had talent. Edit: it was an Elim for the IBF. Byrd won and beat Holyfield.
I think Reed is referring to the similarities in their post -decline reputations. Both men became legends after-the-fact. Valero never really fought anyone. If he'd fought a Lomachenko, I think nobody would mention his name today. He'd be a total embarrassment. But with years having passed since his death, guys like Dougie Fischer get to play Bert Sugar on YouTube. That can't happen if somebody like Loma exposes him for the limited guy he was..
I can't stand these dweeby, nerdish bookish sorts who invade boxing and then try to, like a bunch of lesbians with green hair, start trying to redefine shit, reclassify it. They come across as harmless enthusiasts but they're wreckers and bullshitters and narrative-monkeys who push a lot of really bogus crap. Like I said, I'm glad Fischer gets to wear that Valero mess like a ball and chain. Appearing on shit 50-views YouTube videos with a pair of yo yo yo dudebros to low-key suck the dick of a wife-killing pos. It's Michael RapperPort energy. "Yo yo yo, my man, he nevva wudda lost, broooo , he was the man, cuz" Shut your fucking mouth. Great career trajectory, shithead. Bet he didn't see that coming in 2003 at Maxboxing.com
Never got the Valero hype, even when he was alive and active. Certainly seemed powerful but he looked woeful otherwise. Like Irish said, Ibeabuchi proved more and to my eyes at least looked a lot better.
I give him credit for when his scalp was cut by an elbow and he fought on to grind his man down. But it's easy to do that when you have a Jekyll-Hyde syndrome anyways. Ibeabuchi was offered, in Byrd, the perfect conundrum for anybody who might lack resolve but he solved it nonetheless.
Some might think I exagerate but I always found some similarity between Valero and Daniel Ponce de Leon... I felt both were crude, awkward and fought with their hands too low but possessed very good power. Valero was noticeably faster though and that gave him the higher ceiling.
