Edwin Valero: One To (Finally) Watch in 2010

Most serious observers consider Floyd Mayweather to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He’s also a bona-fide star with widespread recognition among casual sports fans, though, even with his undeniable talent, spotless record, and larger-than-life personality, it took him a while to reach that level.

Just imagine how much more famous he’d be if every one of his 40 wins came by knockout.

Impossible? Maybe for Floyd, who has battled hand problems during his career and is missing top end power from an otherwise complete set of elite boxing skills.

Yet there is an undefeated world champion who has stopped every man he’s faced, including an incredible 19-of-26 in the first round. That would be WBC lightweight titleholder Edwin Valero, who, in his native Venezuela, added Hector Velazquez to his list of victims this past Saturday.

Given the love the general public usually shows for top knockout artists, the 28-year old southpaw should be well on his way to becoming a superstar. But, for a variety of reasons mostly beyond his control, Valero remains a secret shared only among hardcore boxing fans.

Upon turning pro in 2002, Valero became an Internet legend thanks to his string of devastating first-round KOs. Influential boxing writer Dougie Fischer (then of MaxBoxing.com and currently editor for The Ring magazine’s website) became one of his most vocal supporters, with readers jokingly referring to Valero as Fischer’s son.

Twelve men failed to make it three minutes with Valero in his first two years, and he appeared to be on the fast track for world titles and huge fights. That changed in 2004, when a routine pre-fight MRI found hemorrhaging in his brain tissue, the aftermath of a motorcycle accident he suffered before he began boxing professionally.

Since commissions in the U.S. wouldn’t allow him to fight, Valero turned into something of a boxing nomad. After taking all of 2004 off, he spent the next four years performing primarily in Japan, with stops in Argentina, Panama, France, and Mexico.

It wasn’t until earlier this year that he made another appearance on American soil, capturing the vacant WBC lightweight belt by knocking down Antonio Pitalua three times en route to a second-round TKO in Austin, Texas. Valero seemed to be on the verge of fighting regularly in the U.S.— still the end-goal for most top-level boxers— and even got clearance to fight in Las Vegas.

He was set to face Humberto Soto in November, but the bout was scrapped when Valero was denied a renewal of his visa. The reason differs depending on who you ask. The official line is that Valero has a pending DUI charge in Texas, while he maintains his support for outspoken Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has made him a victim of politics.

That snafu forced Valero to fight in his homeland last Saturday, where he pummeled Velazquez into submission over six rounds. He'll head to Mexico early in 2010 for his biggest test yet in the form of Antonio DeMarco, but American fans will get to watch this one on Showtime.

Continued exposure of that kind is the only thing Valero needs to catapult himself to the next level. His record speaks for itself when it comes to delivering action, yet he's also displayed toughness and heart, picking himself off the canvas to take out Vicente Mosquera three years ago and battling through a nasty cut caused by a clash of heads against Velazquez.

Experts see numerous holes in Valero's technical game, and his competition to this point has been unimpressive to say the least. Still, power tends to correlate to popularity more than skill, and the Venezuelan's explosive punching and attack-first mentality will get him new fans, win or lose.

Barring further obstacles, boxing enthusiasts in the U.S. should see Valero in action several times in 2010. My guess is they'll like what they see.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com . Follow his Twitter feed @Nick_Tylwalk .