Has anyone received as much undeserved praise as this scumbag? Maybe it's a generational thing, or a cultural thing, not quite sure. He knocks out a bunch of cans and suddenly he's Salvador Sanchez.
Underrated? To be rated you should fight and beat rated guys. Otherwise you're just Sven Ottke with marital issues.
the guy was no saint, clearly, but he was an explosive, vicious knockout puncher with decent skills. in the frame of boxing, it's understandable that he receives praise, especially since he died early, so there's the question of what would have become of him in today's landscape. outside of boxing, he was a suicidal, murdering maniac. in short, no one praises him as a person, but people praise him as a fighter.
I read a thread on here or another board that had him matched up with Sal in a fantasy bout. Amazingly, it was 50/50. So many guys had him beating the likes of Sanchez, Marquez, Pacquiao. I don't see it happening.
I thik you are off base here. When he fought Demarco he showed real boxing skills and couldnt get Pac or any good fighters to take the challenge of his stamina and power. Over-rated hardly, just dont know if he couldve taken his power any higher than that weightclass but he wouldve sparked out Rios and probably got out boxed by Marquez.
Sometimes greatness is in how you perform in the ring, and not necessarily based on your legacy. People just have a tendency to believe Valero possessed something special even though he fought a ton of bums. Many people including myself was impressed with how much he improved when he fought DeMarco. You see special qualities even in today's prospects such as Gary Russell and A. Broner. Nobody is calling Valero an ATG. Some just believe he had a good chance to become one and that's special enough. He definitely was exciting in the ring. Hate him for what he did outside the ring if that's what you want. Don't tell me he can't provide any spark for the sport of boxing.
Fighting better guys usually results in getting your strengths nullified and your weaknesses enhanced.
so overrated because of so called "potential" because his career got ended. kinda like ike ibeabuchi. i mean the guy's best win is vicente mosquera for crying out loud.