My Take On Valero

Now I've often been critical of Valero. What we saw before this fight with DeMarco was a largely one-dimension brawler with a practically non-existent defence and wild, sloppy punching. My perception of him has totally changed, although I'm not completely sold on him and I'm not convinced he's the real deal. Yet.

He showed exactly what he has in his arsenal against DeMarco and performed extremely well. First of all, massive credit to him for carrying on with that huge gash over his head, and also the cut on his eyelid on the same side, and on keeping his composure aswell.

The raw out power is there for all too see. However, I think his punching technique still needs some work, I think he can turn his punches over more and generate even more power. His left hand is excellent, it doesn't look that aesthetically pleasing in terms of the straightness and technique of it, it's more of a slight overhand left, but it's very accurate, and evidently packing some punch. By far his best weapon offensively.

His jab is developing further aswell. He doesn't use it to rack up the points, but it's very, very good at setting up the left hand and he also digs it in the body occasionally. He digs in with the straight left to the body aswell, but he does tend to neglect the body a bit when firing off combinations. Then again, if you can punch straight threw a guys guard like this guy, why would you hit the body that much? His footwork is very good, quick and he can bounce around out of range if necessary. From a defensive point of view, he took away DeMarco's jab and made him miss a lot with the straight left hand with a combination of slipping, head movement and footwork.

His chin is iron aswell. He took a few left-hands from DeMarco that were absolutely on the button, aswell as a few huge, winging right hooks from DeMarco's power hand and didn't budge in the slightest. Stamina wise, he was still going strong and throwing punches in abundance at the end.

Combination punching wise, he puts them together very well with very decent handspeed. As I said, he could do with a little more punching technique and often the right hands are just straight down the barrell to compliment the left hand rather than trying to generate extra power by firing them as uppercuts or hooks. His right hook isn't bad though, it's just often neglected in terms of his combination punching.

Defensively, he's still hittable but not near the level I thought he was. He's hittable when in range and punching and open to counter's, but then again his opponent has enough to contend with Valero firing off combinations. When he's not actually punching and he concentrates on trying to defend himself, he's actually got decent reflexes and good head movement.

I don't have a real problem with him keeping his hands low within punching range. I think it offers him more variety with his punches, with the overhand left and the looping sort of mix between the right hook/uppecut coming from the angles he can create with his punching with his hands starting low and relaxed.

He's not the finished article by any means, but he is undoubtedly a tough fight for anybody in and around his division, world-class and the raw potential is enormous. He reminds me of the Pacquiao of old, just a bit more rounded in a few areas although he needs to show this more in his fights and kick on from that performance against DeMarco. With a good trainer and just a little improvement in his punching technique and defense, this guy could be special.

Thanks for reading.

 

Cheers for taking the time to read it Imperial. I'm not particularly fond of his lack of defense at times either, he's hittable when he's throwing leather, and he keeps his hands down in punching range which from a defensive aspect isn't great, but I think his defense is better than given credit for. He showed in spurts he can avoid DeMarco's punches with head movement & reflexes and at times footwork. The problem is he doesn't do it often enough, he seems to forget about that aspect of his game at times. But when he uses his defense, I think it's decent. He just needs to be aware of it more of the time.

 

I don't think it's as easy as that. I mean yes a counter punch would be able to find huge gaps in his defence when he's punching, but they would have so little time to find it because he's a beast offensively. It's like Antonio Margarito, a good counter puncher isn't going to beat him all the time despite his non-existent defence, because he's a tough pressure fighter. Valero is better than Margarito though, so it's going to be more difficult. A supreme counter-puncher would be able to, but I can't help but feel that a better way of beating him would be too brawl with him.

But that guy would need to be technically superior, a big puncher who can hurt Valero, have a big strength advantage and maintain a higher work-rate in order to the be the aggressor. You know, try and put Valero on the back foot and take away his advantages as opposed to exploited his perceived weaknesses. Sort of like Mosley did to Margarito, but again Valero is better than Margarito all-round so it's going to be difficult to find a guy who can do just that.

 

I would of thought that if I'd watch it live and not 2 days later after knowing the result. But yeah, I would of thought that he was done after the cut, and then I would of thought he'd of blown himself out. Great heart and great stamina. I know what you mean, he's open defensively but it's hard to exploit because he's always aggressive and on the attack.

 

Basically a beast offensively, good power although he needs a little more technique. He's got flaws defensively but they are difficult to exploit. A tough fight for anybody and elite if he improves on a few things.

 

I think JMM is campaigning at 140 now with no intention of going back down. But I agree I'd like to see him fight Soto/Katsidis at 135 first, and also Funeka. Then I think he should move up.

I was overly critical of him and his lack of opposition before despite winning two titles, but he's taking a step in the right directly and I don't think too many are actually willing to get in the ring with him.

I'm definately a fan now though, if only for the balls he displayed in continueing with that cut, and not only that but going to war straight away and trading with DeMarco with that huge gash wide open and blood pouring down to his trunks. He's exciting to watch and a warrior.