Valero Stops DeMarco in Mexico

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 02.07.2010

The WBC lightweight champ impresses in defense of his title.


Photos by Tom Casino / Showtime

Twenty seven fights; twenty seven knockouts.

In defense of his WBC lightweight title, that's exactly how Edwin Valero (27-0, 27 KOs) ended the evening in Monterrey, Mexico as he put on an impressive display of raw aggression and skills against a game but confused Antonio DeMarco.

After a feel-out opening round, things got a little scary for Valero who suffered an accidental elbow that opened up a huge gash over the right side of his forehead. However, the defending champion buckled down and went right back to work as he continuously rained combinations on DeMarco's face while staying out of range of the Mexican's straight shots.

After being warned after the 8th round that his team would stop the bout if he didn't pick up the pace, he remained befuddled and disilussioned as Valero pressed forward from various angles. Before the start of the 10th, DeMarco sat on his stool and made no fuss about his corner stopping the fight whilst way behind on the official scorecards.

"My physical strength started to show," Valero said. "Little by little, I started gaining ground. The first three or four rounds I couldn't hit him with my jab, but then I started to connect. This was definitely my best performance. I learned I have to pace myself and can't just come out in the beginning rounds so aggressively."

In the co-featured bout, Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23 KOs) remained unbeaten with a decisive 10-round decision win over Richard Gutierrez (24-4, 14 KOs). Abregu had a scary moment early on however as he was tagged with a quick left hook in the 2nd round that put him down to his knees and in bad shape. He managed to survive the round though as Gutierrez lacked any discipline as he swung wildly; giving Abregu time to recover. Abregu would rally back to drop Gutierrrez in the next round and then proceed to dominate the marjority of the fight while earning scores of 98-90 and 97-91 twice.

"I came in knowing that Gutierrez was tough," said Abregu, who showed surprisingly good boxing skills, movement and defense. He's shown it in all his past fights. I knew it wasn't going to be easy."