Edwin Valero has accused the U.S. government of discrimination, has a tattoo of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across his chest, sustained a serious head injury in a motorcycle crash and was charged with drunken driving in Texas.
That alone is quite the resume for the bad boy of boxing, but what makes his curriculum vitae really stand out is the line that reads: 26-0, 26 knockouts.
``I really don't pay attention to what people think about me. I do what I do because I want to do it,'' said Valero, who will fight Antonio DeMarco for a lightweight title Saturday night in Monterrey, Mexico. ``The way I live, that's me. It's not that I'm controversial, it just may come across as controversial, but I live the way I do, I train the way I do, because I want to.''
It's a cavalier attitude that has gotten Valero into plenty of trouble. But he also carries that attitude into the ring, where it's caused trouble for everybody else.
Valero's first 18 fights never went past the first round, his heavy hands dealing half a dozen clean knockouts. Only once has Valero gone past the ninth round, and in that case he was battering Vicente Mosquera so badly that referee Luis Pabon stopped it in the 10th.
By the way, that was for a world title.
When the charismatic Venezuelan moved up in weight to challenge Antonio Pitalua for a vacant belt early last year, pundits figured someone with 46 wins in 49 fights would finally be able to give Valero something of a challenge.
They figured wrong. Valero stopped him in the second round.
``I look at all the fighters, and this goes for DeMarco too, I look at them the same,'' Valero said earlier this week. ``I train hard, I fight hard, there's no difference.''
If only everything was that simple outside the ropes.
The 28-year-old Valero was in a severe motorcycle accident in February 2001 that left him with a fractured skull and required surgery to remove a blood clot.
He says his doctor in Venezuela cleared him to fight a year later, and Valero turned pro in 2002. He won his first 11 fights, including two in California, before failing a pre-fight MRI exam in New York. Valero was handed an indefinite suspension that effectively banned him from fighting in the United States, so much of his career has transpired in Japan and Latin America.
Top Rank has pushed for Valero to receive a license in the U.S., where there are far more lucrative opportunities, and Nevada recently amended a rule that did not allow fighters to apply for a license if they had previously suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.
Just when everything seemed to be lining up for Valero to fight on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's megafight last fall against Miguel Cotto, politics intervened.
Valero was denied a visa because of his DUI in Texas, then suggested that his application was refused because of his sympathy for Chavez, a fierce critic of U.S. policy in the region.
``Yes, of course I want to continue to fight in the U.S. and I understand that's where the opportunities are,'' Valero said. ``We're working on getting my visa and returning. I'm going to say in the next three months, hopefully we'll have that done.''
Whether he'll be defending his title or seeking another depends on how he performs Saturday night against DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs) in a fight that will be televised live on Showtime.
The 24-year-old southpaw from Tijuana earned the fight with knockouts of Anges Adjaho in a title eliminator and Jose Alfaro for an interim belt. His boxer-puncher style and almost shy disposition stand in stark contrast to his brooding, straight-ahead opponent.
``Valero is a great champion, he's very aggressive, he comes forward, but we're ready for this and more,'' DeMarco said. ``I never say bad words, and I give respect for a champion. I'm very respectful for everybody, but a fight is a fight, you know?''
Valero craves worldwide attention, the kind that comes with fighting in the casinos of Las Vegas and resorts of California. DeMarco craves the attention of Mexico, where champions like Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez and Salvador Sanchez are revered just like pro football and basketball players are in the United States.
And with Marco Antonio Barrera and Eric Morales near the end of their careers, DeMarco sees a void that is waiting to be filled.
``For me, it's an honor to fight here in Mexico, my land, and to fight for the world title,'' he said. ``A lot of people in Mexico know me but this is an opportunity to demonstrate to all of Mexico. Maybe, that's the reason we're working so hard.''
