In the co-main of the David Morrell-Sena Agbeko event, a rematch will also serve as a WBA Lightweight Title Eliminator as Chris “Primetime” Colbert will face Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela on Saturday night, December 16th, at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, live on Showtime.
Back in March 2023, Colbert and Valenzuela faced each other in what turned out to be a very entertaining bout. The fight was competitive, but it ended in what most boxing fans considered to be a controversial decision.
A year prior, Chris Colbert was an undefeated fighter who was stepping inside the squared circle to face Hector Luis Garcia. The Dominican boxer Garcia was dominant as he dropped Chris Colbert with a counter left in the seventh round, and he would go on to collect the unanimous decision victory.
Seven months after Colbert’s loss to Garcia, a previously undefeated Jose Valenzuela stepped inside the ring to face Edwin De Los Santos. Valenzuela scored a knockdown in the second, but De Los Santos was able to recover from the knockdown and go on to stop Valenzuela in the 3rd round.
With both boxers coming off of losses, they were paired together in a pivotal matchup that was scheduled to take place on the March 25th David Benavidez-Caleb Plant undercard. In the opening round of the bout, Valenzuela got off to a quick start by landing a counter left that dropped Colbert 30 seconds into the fight.
Chris Colbert was able to survive the knockdown, and he went on to have moments in the fight where his hand speed and good punch placement were on display. However, Jose Valenzuela was able to visibly hurt Colbert in the sixth and the eighth.
At the conclusion of the 10-round lightweight contest, all three judges scored the bout 95-94 in favor of Chris Colbert. A chorus of boos echoed from the crowd due to the fact that they didn’t agree with the decision. Boxing pundits and members of the media would go on to label the decision as controversial.
Initially, Chris Colbert was adamant about not giving Jose Valenzuela a rematch because he felt that Valenzuela acted like a sore loser. However, Colbert has experienced a change of heart, and now the grudge match is on.
Tonight on Showtime, a second clash between two boxers who don’t like each other will take place, as Chris Colbert (17-1, 6 KOs) will seek validation while Jose Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs) will attempt to get his vindication.
