Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela avenged his 2022 defeat with a brutal second-round knockout in the Zuffa Boxing 08 main event in Las Vegas
Jose Valenzuela settled unfinished business on Sunday night, knocking out Edwin “La Granada” De Los Santos in the second round to avenge the most damaging defeat of his career. A perfectly timed right hook ended the lightweight rematch before it could develop into another war. Valenzuela (16-3, 10 KOs) erased the memory of his 2022 loss with one perfectly timed punch, stopping De Los Santos (17-3, 15 KOs) in a fight that ended almost as soon as it began. Referee Thomas Taylor officially stopped the fight at 2:05 of round two.
Their first meeting in September 2022 had been a dramatic slugfest. Valenzuela scored an early knockdown, but De Los Santos rallied with multiple knockdowns of his own before forcing a third-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten southpaw.
The rematch promised another firefight, and both fighters immediately looked to exchange heavy shots from the opening bell. Valenzuela boxed patiently from his southpaw stance while De Los Santos pressed forward looking to land his trademark power.
The fight came to a sudden end in the second round.
Valenzuela uncorked a crushing right hook that landed flush on De Los Santos’ chin, sending him heavily to the canvas. As De Los Santos fell, Valenzuela landed an additional punch while his opponent was already down, but referee Thomas Taylor did not intervene or issue a warning. The bout was waved off moments later with De Los Santos unable to continue.
The knockout completed Valenzuela’s revenge mission in emphatic fashion and provided one of the quickest finishes of the Zuffa Boxing series to date.
While the matchup had been promoted as guaranteed action based on the first fight, the rematch ended before either fighter had the chance to build sustained momentum. De Los Santos appeared to struggle with his timing early, while Valenzuela made him pay immediately with a perfectly placed counter.
For Valenzuela, the victory closed the chapter on one of the most damaging defeats of his career and restored his standing in the lightweight division with a highlight-reel finish.