By Vince D’Writer: Six months ago, super lightweight contender Steve Spark was landing on his feet after being thrown over the top rope, and now he has landed a spot on Canelo Alvarez’s May 6 undercard, as Spark will face Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (26-3-1, 16 KOs) at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, live on DAZN Pay-per-view.
A native of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, Steve Spark started his pro boxing career back in 2014, and after a successful debut, Spark lost his second professional bout. He would go on to bounce back by putting together a solid 11-fight win streak.
The streak came to an end in July 2021 when Spark decided to take a massive test on short notice. With only seven days to get himself prepared, Spark, who fights at 140, agreed to go up two weight classes to face Tim Tszyu, and unfortunately for Spark, his opponent Tszyu stopped him in the third round when he landed a vicious body shot.
After suffering the second defeat of his professional career, Steve Spark regrouped and proceeded to produce a 3-fight win streak. He would enter the squared circle once again in November 2022 with a chance to win a vacant title.
Steve Spark made his U.S. debut against Montana Love, a Matchroom boxer who was having his homecoming bout at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The scheduled bout with Montana Love provided Spark the opportunity to gain exposure and the chance to collect a quality win over a quality opponent.
In the first round, Montana Love dictated the pace of the bout as he controlled the distance, used feints, and he was able to land a few solid left hand shots. The fight took a drastic turn in the second round when Spark landed a hard right hand shot that sent Love down to the canvas. Love was able to get up, and he would proceed to come back and perform well in rounds three and four.
Spark turned up the aggression in round 5 as he pressed forward and hit Love with a flurry of power shots. In the opening seconds of round 6, Steve Spark and Montana Love clashed heads, and as a result of the unintentional headbutt, Love suffered a cut on his left eye. A timeout was called as the ringside physician examined the injury. After examining the cut, the doctor decided to allow the fight to continue.
As soon as the action resumed, Love put his head down and drove Spark to the ropes. While the two boxers were in a clinch, Love proceeded to place his left forearm under his opponent’s chin and push him over the top rope. The referee decided to disqualify Montana Love, and Steve Spark was awarded the victory. With the win, Spark became the new WBA Inter-Continental super lightweight champion.
Steve “The Viking” Spark (16-2, 14 KOs) ruined his opponent’s homecoming fight, and Spark is planning on doing it again as his May 6 opponent Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela is a native of Guadalajara, Mexico. Valenzuela and Spark have a common opponent as they both faced Montana Love.
Just like Spark, Valenzuela scored a second round knockdown against Love, but unfortunately, he didn’t get the win. He fought well and gave a valiant effort, but in the end, he lost by way of unanimous decision.
Valenzuela would love to defeat Steve Spark in front of a hometown crowd of 50,000 fans, but Spark plans on ruining another homecoming party. In addition to ruining another homecoming, Spark wants to put on an impressive performance so he can rise in the rankings of the stacked 140-pound division.
Going into the May 6 bout, Spark is aware of the fact that 50,000 people will be against him, but he’s anticipating after he defeats Valenzuela, he will gain 50,000 fans. Spark is mentally prepared for the hostile environment and he’s confident he will be victorious.
“I’m in the Lion’s Den this weekend, May 6, in Guadalajara, and I guarantee I’m going to knock out Gabriel Valenzuela on Saturday night.”
