Valero Made a Mistake by Not Fighting Prescott
July 10th, 2009
By Matt Stein: World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion Edwin Valero (25-0, 25 KO’s) made a huge mistake when he turned down a fight with unbeaten Colombian lightweight contender Breidis Prescott (21-0, 18 KO’s). Valero, 27, had a chance to fight Prescott next, but instead Valero turned his back on the fight, saying that he wanted to take on a bigger named opponent.
In facing Prescott, Valero would have finally had his first true test as a pro and he could have shut down some of his critics by taking the fight, win or lose. Valero wants a fight against Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Joel Casamayor.
The one problem is Valero hasn’t faced anyone with a pulse yet, and his unbeaten record and reputation is solely based on wins against mostly mediocre opponents. The thought of Valero fighting fighters like Pacquiao and Marquez seems a little off-putting, because Valero hasn’t done anything to deserve a fight against either one of those guys at this point in his career.
That won’t stop him from trying to get a fight with them nor will it likely discourage a promoter like Bob Arum from looking at a match-up like these at some point in the future. However, I think Valero missed his chance when a fight against Prescott was there for him.
That fight would have given Valero some much needed credibility as a fighter would have made a name for him if he could have gotten by Prescott. I have my doubts that Valero could beat Prescott, but at least by trying Valero would have taken on a live dog instead of the unknown fighters that he’s been feasting on in Japan.
I don’t think that Valero is at the stage of his career where he can call the shots and ask for fights against top opponents. A fight against the 37-year-old Casamayor is hardly the kind of opponent that Valero should be looking for if he’s interested in increasing his stature as a fighter.
Casamayor may have been a great fighter at one point, but he’s coming off a 11th round TKO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in September and Casamayor looked bad against Michael Katsidis despite pulling out the in with a 10th round TKO in March 2008.
For me, a fight against a fighter as old as Casamayor didn’t do much to further Valero’s career, especially when you look at the fact that Valero recently fought and defeated a 39-year-old Antonio Pitalua in his last fight in April 2009. If Valero wants to be known as a fighter that goes after old timers, then by all means he should go ahead and fight Casamayor.
Now I can see why Valero would be hesitant to fight Prescott. The Colombian fighter doesn’t have much of a fan base at this point in his career and would be a very dangerous opponent with little reward in terms of financial gain.
However, hardcore fans would be appreciative of a fight like this, and probably a cable network like HBO, who are no doubt aware of how good Prescott is as a fighter and would be interested in showing a fight like this rather than a fight against an old timer like Casamayor.
Tags: 11 Responses to “Valero Made a Mistake by Not Fighting Prescott”
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how can people say that valero only fights low ranked apponants when really prescott on the other hand has only really beat amir khan. Whitch in my opinion is well over rated infact i think valero should fight khan. At least valero would get some noteriorty then and would hopfuly knock khan back to wher he came from NOT THE UK.
make valero fight the best and let khan keep fighting mediocre oppents charging ppv prices silly ppl call ur selves fans of boxing khan could do ballet you lot would still b banging on about him he is borin
B.Prescott vs. Anthony Peterson what’s up fight fans, good fight to see.
Khan above c-class when Prescott fought him?! I haven’t even rated him then but thank God he’s shown significant improvement under Roach. Maybe Khan would start fighting quality opposition after the Kotelnik fight…just maybe…
I was dissapointed when he pulled out of a fight with Prescott. It wasnt he wanted a bigger name fighter he wanted more money. Hes the WBC champ and feels he deserves to be paid like one.
But in reality Prescott is as good as anybody hes ever faced and a big puncher. He should of took the fight. But this is whats happenin in this sport these days.
Also i think Valero is way overestemating himself. im a big fan of his cuz hes so exciting but you see in his fights hes very limited skillwise and relys completely on his power.
Once he steps in the ring with a top level boxer who knows how not to get hit then Valero is in trouble. Hes really easy to hit and does not win rounds on style and work rate.
who the hell does valero think he is? climb up the ladder you lazy nob. bob arum overfeed this valero’s mind into thinking that he is among the elite. dream on..
presscott moves backward when he being hit, and does this with his hand down by his waist, he trys to move his head but really sucks at doing so! he wnt last long and khan will ripp him pieces the next time they meet! and they will meet again……
exept this time with a freddie roach gameplan, which u all must agree is the best in the sport
fk presscott,who the fk is he?no one thats who if valero has fought garbage in his career so far then presscott aint fought any one above c class exept khan the don.one fluky win and people goin on about presscot this and presscot that.really he needs to fight 2 or 3 top 10 ranked fighters before we should start goin on sick about the geezer,khan ko was huge for him and seen around the world,but to put it in perspective he cannot be judged soley on that khan win.
Why do people in the US always feel that no one is any good unless they (a) have fought in the US b) fight like an American (c) have fought an American or (d) have been seen on US tv. For Christ sakes, this bias has to stop.
There is/was no doubt the US produced the best boxers for years but if you check the champs and the top contenders in any division, this is no longer the case today. For some reason Americans have always been reluctant to travel for fights. They say they are scared about homer decisions or that they can make more money at home.
Hang on, is this not what happens to foreigners? In fact, even within the US if you fight out of your own home you will not get a decision. Now talking $, don’t Hatton, Klitchsko, Calzaghe and others make a lot more $ at home and also have a better chance to get there too?
I agree the biggest fights MUST be in the US for the extra exposure and $ but Canada’s Pascal & Britain’s Khan & Froch, probably will get more $ at home than in the US for the same reasons I have already stated. So, if a US boxer wants to get the most $, should he not travel? After all is this not simple economics?
The almighty $ is always the key denominator & like a magnet, it will attract hungry fighters. I mean who cares about dubious or early career losses? If you are good people will hear about & watch you so the $ will come. All Valero has to do is keep the KO’s even vs tougher opponents & like flies to shit, fans will learn who he is and follow him. That’s how Tyson’s legend grew.
I am tired of people dissing a guy because they have not seen him fight. If you are a true fight fan, you will find a way to see these guys.
At the same time, til they actually become stars these fighters must learn to accept less $. When they are developing, they must be on Versus, HBO Boxing After Dark or ESPN. Then when they get big people will accept them as PPV stars.
Cotto and Pavlik are very good boxers but unless they fight in their hometowns (or Cotto in N.Y.) they will not draw flies. Til they can sell out arenas and have fans buzzing, they cannot expect big $. The promoters need to match good fighters so we can see good fights.
While we are at it, let the promoters accept the Ring as the sole champs & not the others. They only exist because of sanction fees. Kill the head and the body will fall, starve the bastards and they will die. Make prices reasonable & make great matchups like MMA & keep boxing alive!
Valero Prescott is not a big fight and I do not blame Valero for not taking it as a business. As
a fan I would love to see him tested before I pay big for a PPV event and see him get killed. I am sure I am speaking on behalf of many fans. When you pay big $ you want named, proven boxers although like Spinks Tyson, sometimes one guy kills the other very quickly. That’s boxing!
valero is scared
valero is scared.